Hackett A, Nathan I, Burgess L
Centre for Consumer Education and Research, Liverpool John Moores University.
Nutr Health. 1998;12(3):189-95. doi: 10.1177/026010609801200304.
The number of people who avoid eating meat is growing, especially among young people. Benefits to health from a vegetarian diet have been reported in adults but it is not clear to what extent these benefits are due to diet or to other aspects of lifestyles. In children concern has been expressed concerning the adequacy of vegetarian diets especially with regard to growth. The risks/benefits seem to be related to the degree of restriction of he diet; anaemia is probably both the main and the most serious risk but this also applies to omnivores. Vegan diets are more likely to be associated with malnutrition, especially if the diets are the result of authoritarian dogma. Overall, lacto-ovo-vegetarian children consume diets closer to recommendations than omnivores and their pre-pubertal growth is at least as good. The simplest strategy when becoming vegetarian may involve reliance on vegetarian convenience foods which are not necessarily superior in nutritional composition. The vegetarian sector of the food industry could do more to produce foods closer to recommendations. Vegetarian diets can be, but are not necessarily, adequate for children, providing vigilance is maintained, particularly to ensure variety. Identical comments apply to omnivorous diets. Three threats to the diet of children are too much reliance on convenience foods, lack of variety and lack of exercise.
避免吃肉的人数正在增加，尤其是在年轻人当中。素食对成年人健康的益处已有报道，但尚不清楚这些益处多大程度上归因于饮食，或生活方式的其他方面。对于儿童，有人担心素食是否充足，尤其是在生长方面。风险/益处似乎与饮食限制程度有关；贫血可能是主要且最严重的风险，但这在杂食者中也存在。纯素饮食更可能与营养不良相关，尤其是当这种饮食是专制教条的结果时。总体而言，蛋奶素食儿童的饮食比杂食儿童更接近推荐标准，且他们青春期前的生长状况至少一样好。吃素时最简单的策略可能是依赖素食即食食品，但其营养成分不一定更优。食品行业的素食领域可以在生产更接近推荐标准的食品方面做得更多。素食可以满足儿童需求，但不一定必然如此，前提是保持警惕，特别是要确保饮食多样化。同样的观点也适用于杂食饮食。儿童饮食面临的三大威胁是过度依赖即食食品、缺乏多样性和缺乏运动。
