Nutritional knowledge, anthropometric profile, total cholesterol and motivations in vegetarians and non-vegetarians

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Research often reports on the anthropometric and biochemical profile of vegetarians and non-vegetarians, yet few have compared nutritional knowledge in both populations. This cross-sectional study compared nutritional knowledge, anthropometric profile and total cholesterol in vegetarians and non-vegetarians. In addition, the motivations for choosing a vegetarian diet were analyzed. METHODS: A registry card and a questionnaire were administered to evaluate sociodemographic, anthropometric, total cholesterol, nutritional knowledge and motivation data of the vegetarians. Data were analyzed using Chi-square and t-student tests, considering a significance level of 5%. RESULTS: No significant difference was found in the level of nutritional knowledge of the two groups. In addition, a sufficient score was not observed in either group (>80 %). Vegetarians had significantly lower average weight, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) compared to non-vegetarians (59.948 ± 8,923 kg vs. 64.362 ± 12.272 kg, p = 0.017), (23.22 ± 3.026 kg/m2 vs. 25.152 ± 3,373 kg/m2, p < 0.01) and (78.435 ± 10.883 cm vs. 86.207 ± 13.662 cm, p < 0.01), respectively. Total cholesterol concentration was significantly lower in vegetarians (166.307 ± 26.139 mg/dL vs. 189.138 ± 38.451 mg/dL, p < 0.01). The "health benefits" were the main motivations to opt for vegetarianism (32.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Vegetarians presented a better anthropometric profile and lower levels of total cholesterol. However, there were no differences regarding knowledge levels. The highest proportion of vegetarian's report choosing the vegetarian lifestyle for health reasons

RESUMEN

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