According to a new study published in the journal Obesity Reviews, “adhering to vegan diets for at least 12 weeks may be effective in individuals with overweight or type 2 diabetes to induce a meaningful decrease in body weight and improve glycemia.”
The abstract of this new study starts by stating that “In parallel with an increased focus on climate changes and carbon footprint, the interest in plant-based diets and its potential health effects have increased over the past decade.”
The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis “was to examine the effect of vegan diets (≥12 weeks) on cardiometabolic risk factors in people with overweight or type 2 diabetes.”
Researchers identified 11 trials (796 participants). “In comparison with control diets, vegan diets reduced body weight, body mass index (BMI), glycated hemoglobin, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.”
The study states: “We found that adhering to vegan diets for at least 12 weeks may be effective in individuals with overweight or type 2 diabetes to induce a meaningful decrease in body weight and improve glycemia.” Researchers say that some of this effect “may be contributed to differences in the macronutrient composition and energy intake in the vegan versus control diets. ”
Therefore, “more research is needed regarding vegan diets and cardiometabolic health”, the study concludes.
The full abstract of the study can be found below. It was conducted by researchers from various departments at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, More information on this study can be found at the following link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35672940/
Abstract
In parallel with an increased focus on climate changes and carbon footprint, the interest in plant-based diets and its potential health effects have increased over the past decade. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the effect of vegan diets (≥12 weeks) on cardiometabolic risk factors in people with overweight or type 2 diabetes. We identified 11 trials (796 participants). In comparison with control diets, vegan diets reduced body weight (-4.1 kg, 95% confidence interval (CI) -5.9 to -2.4, p < 0.001), body mass index (BMI) (-1.38 kg/m2 , 95% CI -1.96 to -0.80, p < 0.001), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c ) (-0.18% points, 95% CI -0.29 to -0.07, p = 0.002), total cholesterol (-0.30 mmol/L, 95% CI -0.52 to -0.08, p = 0.007), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (-0.24 mmol/L, 95% CI -0.40 to -0.07, p = 0.005). We identified no effect on blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides. We found that adhering to vegan diets for at least 12 weeks may be effective in individuals with overweight or type 2 diabetes to induce a meaningful decrease in body weight and improve glycemia. Some of this effect may be contributed to differences in the macronutrient composition and energy intake in the vegan versus control diets. Therefore, more research is needed regarding vegan diets and cardiometabolic health.
