The findings imply that replacing meat products in the diet with vegetables could with help weight control.
The study determined that in a group of more than 55,000 Swedish women, those who identified themselves as vegetarian weighed less than their meat-eating counterparts.
Included in the study were those who consumed dairy products (lactovegetarians), and "semivegetarians," who said they sometimes ate fish or eggs. The researchers found that vegetarians were two-thirds less likely than meat eaters to be obese.
P. Kirstin Newby, a researcher at Tufts University in Boston, said that though this was not a weight loss study, it would definitely help in planning a weight controlling diet.
The study questioned 55,459 healthy middle-aged and older women about their eating habits, weight, health and lifestyle factors and they found that vegetarians had the lowest average body mass index (BMI). They also found that 40 per cent of meat-eaters were found to be obese, while only 25 percent of the vegetarians were overweight.
Researchers say that the study is significant in that it highlights the fact that not all carbohydrates are equal.
A fiber-rich diet, is as a rule, advocated as a healthy one, plant foods are often high in carbohydrates but they also contain a lot of fiber, which helps you to feel full.
They also have other nutrients that are important to overall health, says Newby, and it is important to note that eating a plant-based diet could help in fighting cancer and heart disease.
Newby says that meat eaters should limit saturated fat by choosing lean cuts of meat and low-fat dairy products.
published in the June issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
In France, a new study, STEP by STEP, has demonstrated that there is a high prevalence of previously unidentified diabetes. Based on a survey of over 19,000 people, the study showed that just over one in ten were found to have unidentified diabetes. There is clearly still much work to do.
To answer this need, Gluco-forum, a European group of diabetes experts has been brought together by the International Diabetes Federation (European region) to raise awareness of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes, and so actively help the millions of people in Europe thought to be at risk.
Professor Pierre Lefebvre, President of the IDF commented "We are working in an extremely challenging environment, however these cutting-edge initiatives will lead the way in creating a comprehensive societal approach to addressing the challenges and issues that are currently preventing millions from living healthily, free from the threat of diabetes."
glucoforum/