Reprinted from Eating Disorders Review
September/October 2003 Volume 14, Number 5
©2003 Gürze Books
A higher-than-normal body mass index, or BMI, has been identified as a risk factor for shortened lifespan and development of diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers. Cancer researchers at Oxford University have expanded upon this to make a connection between BMI and specific eating patterns (Int J Obesity 2003; 27:728).
Dr. Elizabeth Spencer and her colleagues compared the BMIs of 37,875 healthy men and women aged 20 to 97 years who are participating in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Oxford), a long-term, ongoing study of lifestyle and dietary factors. The participants were classified in one of four groups of eating patterns, according to their main dietary preferences: as meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians, or vegans (people who choose to eat no meat, fish, eggs, or dairy foods).
Meat-eaters had highest BMIs
The mean overall BMI (kg/m2) was 23.81 for men and 23.05 for women. There were considerable differences in mean BMI among the four diet groups. The fish-eaters and vegetarians had lower mean BMIs than the meat-eaters, but had higher mean BMIs than the vegans. Mean (unadjusted) BMI was highest among meat-eaters, at 29.49 for men and 23.69 among women, and lowest among vegans, at 22.34 for men and 21.75 among women.
Among men 5’11” tall, meat-eaters were a mean of 13 lb heavier than vegans. For a woman 5’6″, the corresponding difference in mean BMI represented a difference in weight of about 11 lb between vegans and meat-eaters. Eating a diet of high protein and low fiber was the factor most strongly associated with low BMI.
