ArticleOsteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA2009
Veganism, bone mineral density, and body composition: a study in Buddhist nuns.
Article in Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.
- Religious fasting and its impacts on individual, public, and planetary health: Fasting as a "religious health asset" for a healthier, more equitable, and sustainable society.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Nutrient Intake and Status in Adults Consuming Plant-Based Diets Compared to Meat-Eaters: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Comparison of human bone mineral densities in subjects on plant-based and omnivorous diets: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Archives of osteoporosis · 2021Pooled it
- Plant-Based Dietary Patterns, Body Composition, Muscle Strength and Function in Middle and Older Age: A Systematic Review.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2021Pooled it
- Dietary protein and bone health across the life-course: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis over 40 years.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2019Pooled it
- Are Dietary Patterns Relevant for Reducing the Risk of Fractures and Sarcopenia?Current osteoporosis reports · 2025Review
- Spine, hip, and femoral neck bone mineral density in relation to vegetarian type and status among Taiwanese adults.Archives of osteoporosis · 2023Article
- The Effect of a Vegan Diet on the Cardiovascular System.Journal of cardiovascular development and disease · 2023Review
- Fracture Risk in Vegetarians and Vegans: the Role of Diet and Metabolic Factors.Current osteoporosis reports · 2022Review
- Plant-based diets and body composition in Chinese omnivorous children aged 6-9 years old: A cross-sectional study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Article
- Fad Diets: Facts and Fiction.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Review
- Article
- Vitamin C Deficiency and the Risk of Osteoporosis in Patients with an Inflammatory Bowel Disease.Nutrients · 2020Review
- Bone loss, low height, and low weight in different populations and district: a meta-analysis between vegans and non-vegans.Food & nutrition research · 2020Article
- Observational
- From Religion to Secularism: the Benefits of Fasting.Current nutrition reports · 2018Review
- Anthropometric and physiologic characteristics in white and British Indian vegetarians and nonvegetarians in the UK Biobank.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2018Article
- Evaluation of a validated food frequency questionnaire for self-defined vegans in the United States.Nutrients · 2014Article
- Vegetarianism, bone loss, fracture and vitamin D: a longitudinal study in Asian vegans and non-vegans.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2012Article
- Vitamin D status and parathyroid hormone in a urban population in Vietnam.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2011Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
summaryThis cross-sectional study showed that, although vegans had lower dietary calcium and protein intakes than omnivores, veganism did not have adverse effect on bone mineral density and did not alter body composition.
introductionWhether a lifelong vegetarian diet has any negative effect on bone health is a contentious issue. We undertook this study to examine the association between lifelong vegetarian diet and bone mineral density and body composition in a group of postmenopausal women.
methodsOne hundred and five Mahayana Buddhist nuns and 105 omnivorous women (average age = 62, range = 50-85) were randomly sampled from monasteries in Ho Chi Minh City and invited to participate in the study. By religious rule, the nuns do not eat meat or seafood (i.e., vegans). Bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine (LS), femoral neck (FN), and whole body (WB) was measured by DXA (Hologic QDR 4500). Lean mass, fat mass, and percent fat mass were also obtained from the DXA whole body scan. Dietary calcium and protein intakes were estimated from a validated food frequency questionnaire.
resultsThere was no significant difference between vegans and omnivores in LSBMD (0.74 +/- 0.14 vs. 0.77 +/- 0.14 g/cm(2); mean +/- SD; P = 0.18), FNBMD (0.62 +/- 0.11 vs. 0.63 +/- 0.11 g/cm(2); P = 0.35), WBBMD (0.88 +/- 0.11 vs. 0.90 +/- 0.12 g/cm(2); P = 0.31), lean mass (32 +/- 5 vs. 33 +/- 4 kg; P = 0.47), and fat mass (19 +/- 5 vs. 19 +/- 5 kg; P = 0.77) either before or after adjusting for age. The prevalence of osteoporosis (T scores < or = -2.5) at the femoral neck in vegans and omnivores was 17.1% and 14.3% (P = 0.57), respectively. The median intake of dietary calcium was lower in vegans compared to omnivores (330 +/- 205 vs. 682 +/- 417 mg/day, P < 0.001); however, there was no significant correlation between dietary calcium and BMD. Further analysis suggested that whole body BMD, but not lumbar spine or femoral neck BMD, was positively correlated with the ratio of animal protein to vegetable protein.
conclusionThese results suggest that, although vegans have much lower intakes of dietary calcium and protein than omnivores, veganism does not have adverse effect on bone mineral density and does not alter body composition.
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