Are a lot of vegetarians chubby?

rantyface

I know statistically vegetarians are less likely to be overweight, but just among my friends, the vegetarians seem a bit chubbier and most of them are overweight. Has anybody else noticed this? Is it just an anomaly?

Konata

Look, it doesn't matter whether your diet is vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, dairy free, whatever free, the simple matter is if you eat more than you need for your body (and don't burn off the excess calories) you will be overweight.

Not really much more too it - just cause you're vegetarian doesn't mean you will automatically weigh less than meat eaters and vice versa.

rantyface

I was wondering if it was common for vegetarians to be chubby. More than half of my veggie friends are overweight. They don't seem to eat that much.

When I went to the gym and was quite light but had a high body fat the man asked straight away if I was vegetarian and he said it was quite common for vegetarians to have low mass and high body fat percentage. Since he said it I realised that an awful lot of the vegetarians I know (and I know a lot) are pudgy.

I thought it could have something to do with a tendency to eat less protein than meat eaters and have a slower metabolism as a result.

ztoical

But there are alot of "chubby" meat eaters so what does it prove? As Hotaru said it doesn't make a difference what your diet is, if you take in more then you put out you will gain weight end of.

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

Ah come on now, don't be jumping down his throat. Personally I haven't noticed it myself, but more than one person has said to me that I'm one of the few not-overweight vegetarians they know, so maybe there is something in it. Could be the cursed cheese sandwiches and chips or big feed of pasta in a cheesy sauce that were the only veggie options anywhere for a long time, so maybe it's changing now?

But yes, more calories in than out will make you overweight, vegetarianism is not an automatic route to either a spare tyre or a six pack, and if you're not getting enough protein from a veggie diet, you're doing it wrong.

rantyface

ztoical wrote: »

But there are alot of "chubby" meat eaters so what does it prove? As Hotaru said it doesn't make a difference what your diet is, if you take in more then you put out you will gain weight end of.

I didn't say all meat eaters are slim or that all vegetarians are fat, I simply said I had noticed that more vegetarians are fat than meat eaters.

I'm concerned that it's more than a "calories in vs calories out" situation, that vegetarians actually have slower metabolisms because of low protein intake.

I have been vegetarian for 18 years, it's not an attack on vegetarisnism. It's a concern that most vegetarians are not doing it properly.

I'd say most people who bother posting here are more interested in nutrition than average, and might be healthy about it, but I have definitely noticed from various lectures and society things I have attended that far too many veggies are overweight and I was wondering if anyone might know the cause. Is it ignorance of the importance of protein, or just a love of cheese and pesto? Is it that many are given the same meals as everyone else at home, minus the meat portion, and are malnourished as a result?

I have to say I was very surprised to notice all this, because I had always assumed vegetarians were inclined to learn about nutrition and learn how to cook. Instead, I meet an awful lot of people who eat couscous and vegetables for dinner and think it's healthy.

Tar.Aldarion

More carbs vs protein if that is happening really. Most I know are skinny, apart from me
Taken in large numbers aren't we meant to be on average 9kg lighter than meat eaters or sth?

Ms. Koi

To be honest, I know a lot of vegetarians who have awful diets, but aren't overweight. I don't think I know any vegetarians who are overweight.
I'm not fat but I'm not skinny either!

rantyface

I think it's just my friends and all the events and lectures and cookery classes I've been to.

I'm sorry my question wasn't clear enough in my question but I'm really surprised at the hostility to my question from people who assumed I ate meat and was attacking vegetarianism, or thought I was some absolute retard who doesn't understand statistics, calories or weight gain. I probably should have been diagnosed with an eating disorder in my teens I was so obsessed with these things and I still know the calories in everything and how to burn them!

Weight gain isn't as "simple as" calories in, calories out. A chronically bad diet can slow your metabolism and that makes a substantial difference to weight gain and loss.

greenasil

I was interested in this thread when I first saw the question, but I agree with the OP that useful information is not being shared.
I'm no expert by any means, so I won't try to answer the question. It does seem that a nutritionist would have an insight to this though.
OP- Your question may be better fielded in the Nutrition & Diet forum here.
All the best!

fillefatale

This is an odd question because I don't know any chubby vegetarians. I know very slim vegetarians or those who are pretty average like me, I don't exercise though, so its my own problem.

Terri26

I'm a vegetarian and am quite chubby. Completely my fault I have a very bad diet even eat very little vegetables. My diet is mainly carb based and I do very little exercise

Mark Hamill

greenasil wrote: »

I was interested in this thread when I first saw the question, but I agree with the OP that useful information is not being shared.
I'm no expert by any means, so I won't try to answer the question. It does seem that a nutritionist dietitian would have an insight to this though.
OP- Your question may be better fielded in the Nutrition & Diet forum here.
All the best!

Fixed your posts. Nutritionists isn't a protected term (like nurse) anyone can call themsleves on one. Those that do are potentially incredibly dangerous.

Miss Lockhart

I am at the upper end of the "healthy weight range" for my height. I'm the fattest vegetarian I know.

I have to say though, I never considered vegetarians more likely to learn about healthy eating. All the veggies I know do so for ethical reasons, not health reasons. I know there are people who choose it for health reasons, but in my experience, they are the minority.

rantyface wrote: »

Weight gain isn't as "simple as" calories in, calories out. A chronically bad diet can slow your metabolism and that makes a substantial difference to weight gain and loss.

But surely then, it is still a question of "calories in, calories out". If your metabolism slows, for whatever reason, it will be less "calories out" for the same amount of activity - but it is still a matter of having to balance your calorie intake to the amount you burn. It just requires a different balance than a "regular" metabolism.

rantyface

Miss Lockhart wrote: »

But surely then, it is still a question of "calories in, calories out". If your metabolism slows, for whatever reason, it will be less "calories out" for the same amount of activity - but it is still a matter of having to balance your calorie intake to the amount you burn. It just requires a different balance than a "regular" metabolism.

Well, it is much, much easier to stay slim if you have a fast metabolism.

Counting calories is no way to live and I don't think many people can stick to it for long, and few people would be naturally satisfied at 1200 kcal "in" per day, even if it was all they could eat to maintain their weight and not gain weight.

Miss Lockhart

rantyface wrote: »

Well, it is much, much easier to stay slim if you have a fast metabolism.

Clearly, yes - but it is still as simple as "calories in, calories out".

rantyface wrote: »

Counting calories is no way to live and I don't think many people can stick to it for long, and few people would be naturally satisfied at 1200 kcal "in" per day, even if it was all they could eat to maintain their weight and not gain weight.

They can increase their activity level.


Anyway, are there any studies showing vegetarianism alters metabolism? If it was documented then at least people could be aware of it before choosing it as their diet.

sweetthing

here's my 2 cents: End of the day if you're careful of your diet, you're more likely to be slim than most.In my experience most vegetarians watch their diet more carefully than many meat eaters because they have to. In regard to veggies having a lower protein intake than meat eaters, you'd have to be very foolish to be a vegetarian and not watch your protein intake. OP, maybe you just have a lot of fat friends who don't watch their diet carefully enough?

Weyhey

rantyface wrote: »

I know statistically vegetarians are less likely to be overweight, but just among my friends, the vegetarians seem a bit chubbier and most of them are overweight. Has anybody else noticed this? Is it just an anomaly?

Out of all the vegetarians I know; the majority of them are slim and those that are chubbier are usually the 'vegetarians' that are not actually vegetarians and that sometimes eat fish, non-veggie cheese, chipper chips fried in fish/meat oil etc...

I also have to agree with others - doesn't matter if you eat meat or not you can be healthy/unhealthy, over/underweight etc and just because someone is slim it doesn’t mean they are healthy.

Feu

hello, i read the title of this thread and had to have a look. This is my first time posting in the V/V section so i don't want to step on any toes, just contribute

sweetthing wrote: »

In my experience most vegetarians watch their diet more carefully than many meat eaters because they have to.

In my experience vegetarians are no better at this than normals!! In fact, people who just stop eating meat and don't replace it with anything are probably more common. As Miss Lockhart said, it's generally for ethical rather than health reasons [if i had to speculate, i'd say the most at risk category health-wise would be young women who aren't vegetarian, but eat little to no meat, so don't substitute with pulses or anything, because they don't consider themselves to be vegetarian] [slightly off topic, sorry!]

sweetthing wrote: »

In regard to veggies having a lower protein intake than meat eaters, you'd have to be very foolish to be a vegetarian and not watch your protein intake. OP, maybe you just have a lot of fat friends who don't watch their diet carefully enough?

Oh no! Then there are tons of foolish veggies out there! as above, the majority of veggies i know don't eat tofu, pulses, tvp/quorn anything like that, they simply don't eat meat or fish, or any protein substitute. In fact i was like that for the first about 2 years i was vegetarian. Not out of obtuseness or anything, but i stopped eating meat quite gradually, and so didn't really look for a replacement, just ate more and more veggies.

After about 2-3 years of that, i went to the doctor with feelng tired all the time, and the first thing she said was

seen-it-all-local-gp wrote:

are you vegetarian?

She then told me that the majority of young women who came in with tiredness, lethargy, fatigue etc were young women who had switched to vegetarianism but who didn't look at their diet at all, just ate more carbs. So, I'm not sure about the chubbyness thing, i've not really made a study of it, but i would imagine it's from supplementing more carbs for meat. protein makes you fuller than veg or carbs, and people who may not look too closely at the science/logistics of protein replacement may hit the toast and mash more. We've all done it!

rantyface

sweetthing wrote: »

OP, maybe you just have a lot of fat friends who don't watch their diet carefully enough?

I think so! Also, as someone mentioned, they are all vegetarian for ethical reasons so they never cared too much about nutrition. It takes a bit of effort to learn to cook vegetarian dishes that aren't just normal dinners minus the meat.

I also go to vegetarian cookery classes but I think the types of people who go to any cookery classes are more likely to be foodies. They are also a bit older than me and many have had children.

I got asked in the gym was I vegetarian because my body fat was so high, at 25% when I was 8 stone. I have sorted that out and it was simply that I wasn't getting enough protein.

Thanks for the feedback.

sweetthing

Oh no! Then there are tons of foolish veggies out there! as above, the majority of veggies i know don't eat tofu, pulses, tvp/quorn anything like that, they simply don't eat meat or fish, or any protein substitute. In fact i was like that for the first about 2 years i was vegetarian. Not out of obtuseness or anything, but i stopped eating meat quite gradually, and so didn't really look for a replacement, just ate more and more veggies.

Feu, this is an excellent post, and after reading it I have to admit you have a really good point. I think I might the exception, rather than the rule, in that my veggie friends (of who tbh I don't have many) are careful about their diets. I remember having a conversation with a veggie friend when I first gave up meat, about how we both started craving things such as orange juice (helps absorb iron)and wholemeal foods (for protein) after turning veggie , as if our bodies were trying to tell us we were lacking certain nutrients. It's quite possible that many vegetarians didn't have the same reactionary feelings as us, and just carried on with our diets, minus the meat (which we both agree is very foolish, but since when has that stopped anyone!).

As Miss Lockhart said, it's generally for ethical rather than health reasons

You're both probably on the money here. After all some of the most foolish things have been done for ethical reasons!

rubadub

Miss Lockhart wrote: »

Clearly, yes - but it is still as simple as "calories in, calories out".

Calories have nothing to do with humans, they are really meant for engineering purposes, so they are really only a rough estimate -you could count grams of food per instead though calories are a better estimate. To make an extreme example wood might release a lot of energy (so be high in calories) but if humans ate it you might not get much energy from it. There were studies done with groups drinking 500kcal of sugar water, or 500kcal of alcohol extra per day, the sugar drinkers put on more fat. I know anecdotally myself that alcohol calories do not add up to the theoretical "3500kcal =1lb of fat". I also think carb vs protein calories do not give the same energy or effect on the body. I gave up bread when trying to lose fat and the fat just fell off me.

Feu wrote: »

protein makes you fuller than veg or carbs, and people who may not look too closely at the science/logistics of protein replacement may hit the toast and mash more.

+1

CathyMoran

This thread should come as a wake up call - have not gained weight but I am guilty of not getting protein in, I just do not eat a lot at all, yesterday all that I had was some chocolate, mayo and pasta - I know that is not healthy...have to get myself fit if I am going to try for another baby.

Hairspray

Another reason why veggies could be chubby is that they have an aversion to meat replacements or just eat beans.They also may not do much weights or be interested in going to the gym or keeping fit and healthy.

I am a vegetarian that tries to keep the carbs on the low side which you can imagine is hard , especially when eating out, but there are ways to do it.If you are smart and plan well in advance getting lots of protein into your diet shouldn't be too hard.

Like a typical day's diet for me is:
30g ready brek with water
1 protein shake (25g protein per scoop)

5x wholemeal crackers (2g of protein per cracker so 10 g there)
200g carrot sticks and 3 oranges
1x pack of cheatin ham (another 25g there)

When im feeling naughty i have this (which is a lot =()
500g dunnes stores tofu (55g protein per block )
Onions and white rice (Like i said naughty)

Generally if im out with friends on a day in town i nip into the nearest healthfood shop to get a protein bar/milkshake up to keep my energy levels up.

Weyhey

This thread seems to me to be going down the veggie protein deficiency myth path....

I thought it was proven that in a developed country it is nearly impossible to have a protein deficiency whether veggie or not????

(Unless you have an eating disorder or eating ridiculously low amounts of calories a day)

rubadub

Weyhey wrote: »

This thread seems to me to be going down the veggie protein deficiency myth path..

There can be a big difference between OPTIMAL amounts and what is deficient. e.g. the RDAs you often see quoted for vitamin C are the amounts which will stave off scurvy, but many people would take several times that dose. some list the RDA as 60mg when pills are commonly 1000mg.

For a athlete doing strength training many say the optimal is said to be 1.5-2g protein per kg bodyweight.

Feu

Weyhey wrote: »

This thread seems to me to be going down the veggie protein deficiency myth path....

I thought it was proven that in a developed country it is nearly impossible to have a protein deficiency whether veggie or not????

(Unless you have an eating disorder or eating ridiculously low amounts of calories a day)

Well, if you were a vegetarian/vegan that didn't any meat, fish, pulses, tofu/soy, or dairy protein, then yes, you could be protein deficient. And yes, these people are out there! As i mentioned i know several As Hairspray said, many have an aversion to meat replacement

And the protein thing as i see it in this topic isn't so much about protein deficiency, more that some veggos might not have the best composition of their diet, the same as some meatarians. It's really just as it might relate to "fullness" or carbo loading if you're not getting enough to eat, or not full on what you are eating

YFlyer

I'm a vegetarian and slim.