Do vegetarians live longer? - Results obtained from “45 and Up Study”

There are several existing studies on the impact of vegetarianism on health, but the results are mixed. In Australia, more than a quarter of a million people aged 45 and over had been recruited to the “45 and Up Study”, the largest ongoing study of healthy ageing. By following such a large group of people over six years, they can find answers to some important health and quality-of-life questions and help manage and prevent illness through improved knowledge of conditions such as cancer, heart disease, depression, obesity and diabetes.

In regard to the study of vegetarians, this “45 and Up Study” gives a total pool of 267,180 men and women to work with. And during the follow-up period, 16,836 participants died. When they compared the risk of early death for vegetarians and non-vegetarians, while controlling for a range of other factors, they did not find any statistical difference: the vegetarians did not have a lower risk of early death compared with their meat-eating counterparts.

As a matter of fact, vegetarians tend to be the “health-conscious” people, with overall healthier lifestyle patterns than the norm. For example, among the “45 and Up” participants, vegetarians were less likely than non-vegetarians to report smoking, drinking excessively, insufficient physical activity and being overweight/obese. They were also less likely to report having heart or metabolic disease or cancer at the start of the study.

And so after controlling for other lifestyle factors, such as the ones listed above, the risk reduction decreased significantly.

This suggests other characteristics beyond abstinence from meat may contribute to better health among vegetarians. More simply, it is the associated healthier behaviours that generally come with being a vegetarian – such as not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly – that explains why vegetarians tend to have better health outcomes than non-vegetarians.

In a separate study they conducted using data from the 45 and Up Study, they found people who ate more fruit and vegetables, particularly those who had seven or more serves per day, had a lower risk of death than those who consumed less, even when other factors were accounted for.

And although there is unclear evidence a vegetarian diet promotes longevity, studies have consistently shown other health benefits. For example, a vegetarian diet has been consistently associated with a reduced risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and obesity.

A meta-analysis (a statistical analysis that combines data from multiple studies) from 2012 concluded vegetarians had a 29% lower risk of early death from heart disease and an 18% lower risk for cancer.

In fact, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the cancer agency of the World Health Organisation, has classified the consumption of processed meat as carcinogenic and red meat as probably carcinogenic to humans.

And so while we cannot say for certain if being a vegetarian helps you live longer, we do know having a well-planned, balanced diet with sufficient fruit and vegetables is certainly good for you.

We also know sufficient physical activity, moderating alcohol consumption and avoiding tobacco smoking are key factors in living longer. And the growing body of evidence shows vegetarians are more likely to have these healthy habits.

The main findings were extracted from the article originally published on The Conversation