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According to the May issue of Diabetes Care, researchers have determined that following a vegetarian diet may help protect individuals from developing both obesity and type 2 diabetes.

The study, which was conducted by Serena Tonstad, MD, PhD, from Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California and several colleagues, took a closer look at 22,434 men and 38,469 women between the years of 2002 and 2006.  The purpose of the study was to compare the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in those who follow a vegetarian diet compared to those who do not.  For those of us who follow a vegetarian diet, the results aren’t much of a surprise.

“The European Prospective Investigation found that BMI was highest in the meat eaters, lowest in vegans, and intermediate in fish lovers,” reported Dr. Tonstad.  “The protective effects of vegetarianism against overweight may be due to avoidance of major food groups, displacement of calories toward food groups that are more satisfying, or other factors.  Based on a review of experimental data, investigators have suggested that the portfolio of foods found in vegetarian diets may carry metabolic advantages for the prevention of type 2 diabetes.”

The researchers took a look at data such as self-reported lifestyle information, medical history and food intake.  They then nfound that vegans had the lowest BMI of just 23.6 kg/m2 . The more meat the individuals had in their diet, the greater their BMI became, with non-vegetarians having an average BMI of 28.8 kg/m2 . The researchers also found that the prevalence of type 2 diabetes steadily increased according to the amount of meat consumption.  2.9% of those following a vegan diet suffered from the disease, while 7.6% of non-vegetarians suffered from diabetes.

Adjustments were made to compensate for other potential causes of the differences, including ethnicity, age, education, sex, physical activity, income, sleep habits, television watching and alcohol use.

“The 5-unit BMI difference between vegans and nonvegetarians indicates a substantial potential of vegetarianism to protect against obesity,” the study authors write. “Increased conformity to vegetarian diets protected against risk of type 2 diabetes after lifestyle characteristics and BMI were taken into account. Pesco- and semi-vegetarian diets afforded intermediate protection.”

Do you need more reasons to become a vegetarian?  Vegetarian’s have long known that passing up the meat in favor of veggies is an important step to take toward conserving the planet’s resources, but it has only been within the past couple years that major studies have come out to support this fact.  Here’s a look at just a few of the shocking findings that have been uncovered by a variety of reputable organizations:

· The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) published a study called “Livestock’s Long Shadow” in 2006 in which it revealed that the livestock industry is the cause of 18% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions
· The country of Brazil reported that it lost 12,000 square kilometers of Amazon rainforest in a one year period, mainly due to cattle ranchers and soy producers who are supplying animal feed to European markets
· Raising a livestock uses far more water than growing vegetables, with 1 kilogram of meat taking about 200 times more water to produce than the same amount o wheat
· In the United States, farm animals consume 5 calories of food for every 1 calorie of food they produce, while farm animals in India consume less than 1.5 calories for every calorie consumed.  In Kenya, on the other hand, livestock provides more calories than it consumes.

So, even if you aren’t quite ready to cut the meat out of your diet entirely, you should seriously consider going “meat free” at least one day per week.  This way, you can help reduce the negative environmental impact that meat-eating creates.  And, who knows, you may just decide you like passing on the meat once you discover how great your body feels!