Brazilian researchers studied the prevalence of dysfunctional eating behaviors among vegan diet followers.
- Researchers identified “disordered eating attitudes” in only 0.6% of approximately 1,000 participants.
- 62% of volunteers said their motivation for following a vegan diet was “ethics and animal rights” and only 10% cited health reasons.
- “Disordered eating attitudes” are primarily related to the reasons for dieting rather than the type of diet itself.
Eating disorders involve changes in the way you eat or actions taken to prevent food from being absorbed (for example, by making yourself vomit or taking a laxative). These include anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder and Pica disease. They can have serious consequences on the physical and mental health of patients.
Only 0.6% of volunteers associated with “disordered eating attitudes”
In a recent study, researchers from the University of São Paulo wanted to know if there was a link between “disordered eating attitudes” and the motivations for food choices among vegans. To do this, they used an online questionnaire to collect sociodemographic data (such as education, income and location) and information on the dietary habits of 971 people, aged 18 or older, from all regions. from Brazil. Then, in a second stage, the team focused on the reasons for the volunteers’ food choices. Of the 971 volunteers, only 0.6% were associated with “disordered eating attitudes.” This proportion is lower than that estimated in the Brazilian population as a whole. These results suggest that followers of the vegan diet have a low risk of developing eating disorders.
Vegan diet: motivations were mainly related to animal rights and ethics
According to the results, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, 62% of people said their motivation for following a vegan diet was related to ethics and animal rights, while only 10% cited health reasons. This suggests that “disordered eating attitudes” are primarily related to dieting motives rather than the type of diet itself. “Understanding the motivations for choosing a diet and the reasons for patients’ food choices helps us design more targeted and effective nutritional programs,” said Hamilton Roschel, author of the research, in a statement.
