Vegetarian Adolescents Characteristics In A Multi-ethnic Urban Population

This study examined the prevalence of adolescent vegetarianism in a multi-ethnic, urban population to identify correlations with demographic, personal, weight-related, and behavioral factors.

Of the 4,746 adolescents studied in this research, 6% were vegetarian. The vegetarian students were more likely to be female, not black, weight and body conscious, dissatisfied with their bodies, and involved in a number of weight control behaviors. Further, vegetarians reported being told by a physician that they had an eating disorder more frequently than non-vegetarians, and they were more likely to have considered or attempted suicide. In particular, vegetarian males were identified as a high risk group for unhealthy weight control practices.