Dietary Practices and Nutrient Content of Vegetarian & Non-Vegetarian Diets of Young Adults

Vegetarian diet has attracted attention for many reasons; good health, less disease, ethics, animal-rights, etc. Hardly any literature on is available from India. Diet of 401 young vegetarian and non-vegetarian males was assessed in this cross sectional study. Intake of protein, fat, iron, and niacin was significantly higher in non-vegetarians (p<0.01). Intake of Vitamin A, C and riboflavin (p<0.01) was higher for vegetarians. There was no significant difference in calcium, phosphorus, thiamine and folic acid intake. Availability of percent energy from carbohydrates is higher for vegetarians, but from fat, it is higher for non-vegetarians (24.7% vs 17.5%). For vegetarians, intake of energy, protein and fats was 10.4%, 51% and 213% in excess of RDA respectively. These differences were much exaggerated for non-vegetarians. Iron, niacin and cobalamin intake was lesser than RDA for vegetarians. Prevalence of pallor was higher in vegetarians and obesity in non-vegetarians.