[Benefits and risks of vegetarian diets].

Introduction: In recent decades, there has been an increasing interest in vegetarian diets. It is therefore interesting to analyse the benefits and risks of these diets. To this end, a review has been done on the benefits and risks of vegetarian diets. Vegetarian diets have been associated with different health benefits. On the contrary, nutritional deficiencies has been observed in those people who follow this type of diet, mainly in those risk groups such as pregnant and lactating women, children, adolescents, and elderly. Vegetarian diets may have some health benefits, however further studies are required.