Australian researchers say that compared to people who often eat meat, vegetarians have slightly lower bone density and relatively weaker bones.
Australian and Vietnamese researchers conducted a study on more than 2,700 people regarding the relationship between diet and bone density. The results showed that the bone density of vegetarians was 5% lower than that of people who often eat meat.
This condition is more pronounced in strict vegetarians, who do not eat eggs and dairy products, whose bone density is 6% lower than that of people who often eat meat. However, for those who do not eat meat and seafood but do eat eggs and dairy products, their bone density is not significantly different from that of people who often eat meat.
The researchers pointed out that this study shows that vegetarians, especially strict vegetarians, have lower bone mineral density, but it is not yet conclusive whether lower bone density increases the risk of fractures. Given that the proportion of vegetarians in Western countries is about 5% and their number is still increasing, while the number of patients with osteoporosis is also on the rise, the relationship between diet and bone density is receiving more and more attention.