Vegetarian Teens At Higher Risk Of Disordered Eating

Even as teens and young adults who choose to be vegetarians reap a number of benefits — including a healthier overall diet and a decreased risk of obesity — some may also have a higher risk of eating disorders such as binge eating.

In a new study released in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers looked at more than 2,500 young adults aged 15-23. The researchers compared subjects’ responses to a survey of eating behaviors against their weight and the efforts they took to control it.

What they found was that vegetarians, on the whole, tended to eat a healthier diet and be at a healthier weight than their meat-eating counterparts. But they also found that those who reported either currently being vegetarian or having been at some point in the past were also more likely to report engaging in more unhealthy weight control behaviors — including binge eating, taking diet pills, etc.