Healthier Body Composition in Vegetarian Men Compared to Omnivorous Men

Background: Previous studies have shown associations between vegetarian (VEG) diet and a healthy lifestyle and the maintenance of adequate body composition evaluated by anthropometric parameters. Objective: To analyze whether vegetarian men have higher rates of adequate nutritional status compared to omnivorous (OMN) men, evaluated by various methods. Methods: In this observational study, from 745 individuals from Sao Paulo, we enrolled 44 OMN and 44 VEG apparently healthy men participants in the CARVOS Study were evaluated by two 24-h dietary recalls, body mass index (BMI), circumference measurements, waist-hip ratio (WHR), skinfolds, and by BIA. Results: OMN men had the highest percentage of overweight/obesity based on BMI (70.4%, P=0.001), WHR (15.9%, P=0.026), waist circumference (50%, P=0.001), arm circumference (20.5%, P=0.001), tricipital skinfold (77.3%, P=0.008), % body fat by total of skinfolds (77.3%, P=0.001), and % body fat by BIA (47.7%, P=0.001). Multiple logistic regression showed that being OMN compared to being VEG significantly increased the risk of overweight/obesity (OR 12.12, CI 3.7 to 39.4); inadequate waist circumference (OR 8.39, CI 2.4 to 28.9); inadequate WHR (OR 9.85, CI 1.1 to 86.7); obesity by total of skinfolds (OR 6.2, CI 1.9 to 20.3), high % body fat by total of skinfolds (OR 8.93, CI 2.5 to 32.0) and by BIA (OR 5.7, IC 1.7-19.0). Conclusion: Vegetarian men have higher rates of adequate nutrition and a lower prevalence of overweight according to BMI, excess abdominal fat, and excess body fat estimated by circumferences, skinfold measurement, and by BIA.