Vegetarian Boys Are 1 Inch Taller Than Meat-eaters

[lvysaur]

Attained height of lacto-ovo vegetarian children and adolescents. - PubMed - NCBI

Age-adjusted regression analysis showed that on average Adventist vegetarian children were taller than their meat-consuming classmates (2.5 and 2.0 cm for boys and girls, respectively). These results did not change materially when adjusting for other food groups. Nor did adjustment for parental height and socioeconomic factors in a sub-sample of 518 children.

The "adjusted for other food groups" part seems vague, but I assume it means they controlled for vegetarians eating more fruit or starch or dairy and the height differential still persisted? Anyway, an interesting result.

 

[rawmeat]

it's the milk

 

[postman]

They should control for vaccination

 

[lampofred]

Meat fat has estrogens which lower height.

Full fat dairy has it too (although it also has a lot of progesterone). Now I understand why Dr. Peat recommends 1%. Enough fat for good digestion without unnecessary estrogen intake.

 

[gaze]

more likely the calcium. large dairy consumption tends to create the long slender look with long ish legs.

 

[inurendotoxin]

LOL.

 

[Summer]

Given the date of this study, my guess would be that the meat that the children were consuming was grain-fed, likely not organic. Even with all of the phytotoxins in vegetables, the Adventist children were probably getting more minerals and nutrients than the kids eating a conventional diet.

 

[LucyL]

It is well known that dogs neutered early (before about 6 months) grow taller than there intact counterparts. Perhaps the extra growth is not a generalized positive.

 

[Sheik]

If I'd have known this I would have eaten tons of meat.

 

[teds]

Meat fat has estrogens which lower height.

Full fat dairy has it too (although it also has a lot of progesterone). Now I understand why Dr. Peat recommends 1%. Enough fat for good digestion without unnecessary estrogen intake.

Are you referring to industrial meat or just meat in general..?

 

[Orion3821]

It's the eggs and milk. We have a difficult time digesting cellulose.

 

[rei]

Coincidence, the study was not designed to state anything else about the reasons for the result.

Animal protein effect on length is well-studied and positive. Especially milk is good for growth.

Wheat prevails in Muslim countries in North Africa and the Near East, which is where we also observe the highest plant protein consumption in the world and moderately tall statures that do not exceed 174 cm. In taller nations, the intake of protein and energy no longer fundamentally rises, but the consumption of plant proteins markedly decreases at the expense of animal proteins, especially those from dairy. Their highest consumption rates can be found in Northern and Central Europe, with the global peak of male height in the Netherlands (184 cm). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1570677X16300065​

 

[yerrag]

I've observed this with the koi I keep. Not so much the superiority of plant-based protein over animal-based protein, but the superiority of minimizing waste of metabolic energy over the misguided focus on high protein consumption.

When we feed our pets, we often consider high protein to be a key factor. But at least for my koi, I've been feeding only 0.5% of their weight daily, and this flies in the face of 'expert' recommendations in the koi hobby industry that recommend as high as 3%. But my koi can easily attain sizes ranging from 80 cm to 97 cm, and show excellent body conformation.

I find that it's very important to provide conditions that minimize their exposure to stress. One key stress factor is bacteria in the water, for example. The bacteria is invisible to us, and we can be deceived into thinking crystal clear water means very clean water, but a poorly-tended pond, with plenty of wastes, especially at the pond and/or filter bottom, is a hot spot for bacterial infestation. When the koi has to use its energy to ward off the ever-present and ever-high bacterial concentration in pond water, they don't grow well, and if they grow, they don't develop beautiful skin. The stress of fighting bacteria robs them of their growth and other areas of development.

I can see the relevance of this and apply this lesson to my own health. I could probably relate this to why the lacto-ovo vegetarian kids grow at a faster pace. Perhaps it is that they eat food that doesn't present too much of an acidic load to the body. Energy used by the lungs and the kidneys to compensate for an acidic load could be an energy sink, and this is energy that would otherwise have been directed towards growing.

Add: Having an optimal pH means a lot. If the ecf is too acidic, it can also lower immunity. With lowered immunity, one easily gets sick. So instead of building and developing, one has to use his energy in healing and recovering. Over years, each incident adds up towards robbing the body of building and developing - and growing.

 

[BRBsavinWorld]

Attained height of lacto-ovo vegetarian children and adolescents. - PubMed - NCBI


The "adjusted for other food groups" part seems vague, but I assume it means they controlled for vegetarians eating more fruit or starch or dairy and the height differential still persisted? Anyway, an interesting result.

I think it’s the same problem with girl’s on modern diets getting huge breasts at 14…
the stress hormones are kicking in early due to diet.

HGH is in the stress cascade that increases height, but does not aid in bone density as effectively as progesterone or testosterone (some studies find correlation between GH and osteoporosis).

I was raised on a plant based diet. Lots of broccoli and kale, as well as purposeful exclusion of animal fats (except egg yolks), and exclusion of dairy…

I grew leaps and bounds in height before my peers, to about 5’9” by 14, but did not grow “androgenic,” I had breast growths (I’m a man), narrow shoulders, chubby, and teen hair loss, as well as a host of other high estrogen / hypothyroid issues.

Just to debunk the people here claiming that the estrogen in dairy and meat fats are problematic (that’s already been roundly debunked), I have a friend who grew up on a ton of meat and dairy, which is consistent with Europeans, and he not only grew 2 inches taller than me by the time we attained adulthood, he grew much broader and androgenic looking. He has huge guns and he said he just did some push-ups as a teen, lol. People think he’s a gym rat, but he’s never trained for growth or bulking. That’s the power of dairy.

I won’t say there aren’t other factors, but it’s commonly accepted that with the significant dairy consumption increase in Northern Europe is when heights drastically increased in the last 70 years. And millennial Chinese have grown a full foot higher than their parents, catching up with Americans over 30 years, specifically because of increased meat consumption.

It’s more so early height growth, that is problematic. Studies also show that avg adult heights in America and parts of Europe are lower than the baby-boomer generation. They ate more animal fat than the avg American today, and I bet that that ironically contributed to steroid genesis and true maturing heighth in adulthood

 

[tankasnowgod]

The "adjusted for other food groups" part seems vague, but I assume it means they controlled for vegetarians eating more fruit or starch or dairy and the height differential still persisted?

No, it simply means they changed the data to get their desired result.

 

[Gânico]

meat isn't going to make you tall, but stockier. take a look at the inuits.

 

[WillB]

I find the issue of height somewhat controversial. I'm not someone that tall compared to other people around the world, but where I live I'm someone considered tall (I'm 1.86cm).
During childhood I was someone chubby, at 11 I decided to lose weight. Until I was 16 my diet was just:
In the morning: 4 balls of water and salt
At lunch: 4 tablespoons of rice, 4 tablespoons of beans, a hand-sized piece of meat
At dinner: the same as in the morning.
I spent hours doing aerobics, of course I was thin, but today I wonder how I survived this for 5 years.

When I was 16 I joined the gym, I started to eat more, what did I gain? (weight, muscles and mental problems). I didn't grow up past the age of 16.

My brother can eat anything and he has been like that all his life (until today), he is only an inch taller than me. He looks more masculine and older, even though he's younger than me. I can't even buy cigarette without you asking for my ID.

 

[lvysaur]

And millennial Chinese have grown a full foot higher than their parents, catching up with Americans over 30 years, specifically because of increased meat consumption.

True, and I think the original study is inherently flawed because it can't control for a very fundamental variable--which is that the kids who CRAVE meat will probably not end up vegetarian in the first place. The kids who do end up vegetarian, are probably already adapted for vegetarianism. Your body will tell you if you truly need meat.

I think there is something about blood type O --> stomach acid --> alkaline phosphatase --> increased calcium absorption which drives this.

It's also very coincidental that the Dutch, out of nowhere, became the tallest in Europe, and they're the only ones who have a high vitamin K2 food (gouda cheese). Japanese have natto, but the combination of unpalatability, low meat consumption, lower dairy consumption, and probably some "island dwarfism" genes prevent them from being the same height.