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Study Finds That Vegans Are More Likely To Break Bones Than Meat Eaters

Study Finds That Vegans Are More Likely To Break Bones Than Meat Eaters

Maybe they're just getting unlucky?

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

A new study has found that vegans are more likely to break bones than their meat eating counterparts.

The study took in a whole heap of data from around 55,000 people - of which about 2,000 were vegans - and discovered that those who eschew eating meat were 43 percent more likely to suffer from broken bones of any kind.

So, it's worth pointing out at this stage that it's not immediately clear what happened to break these bones.

You know, it's not like vegans are more likely to fall off their bicycle or down the stairs or anything like that, but it could show that vegans are more likely to break a bone in such an incident.

PA

Those who participated in the study, performed by EPIC-Oxford, were tracked for 18 years on average to see what happened.

In that time, there were 3,941 fractures in total, of which the largest disparity was in hip fractures which vegans were 2.3 times more likely to suffer than their carnivorous co-participants.

The results of the research project have now been published in the journal BMC Medicine, where lead author Dr Tammy Tong - from Nuffield Department of Public Health - wrote: "We found that vegans had a higher risk of total fractures which resulted in close to 20 more cases per 1,000 people over a 10-year period compared to people who ate meat."

As well as vegans, vegetarians and pescatarians being more at risk of hip fractures, they also discovered that vegans were more likely to break their legs, as well as other common breaks such as the collar bone, arm, wrist and ribs.

PA

However, as we've mentioned, the data on whether the fractures were down to poor bone health or simply accidents and bad luck isn't available.

In fact, Dr Tong argued that there are some clear and obvious benefits to eating a diet that is more heavily plant-based.

Tong added: "Well-balanced and predominantly plant-based diets can result in improved nutrient levels and have been linked to lower risks of diseases including heart disease and diabetes.

"Individuals should take into account the benefits and risks of their diet, and ensure that they have adequate levels of calcium and protein and also maintain a healthy BMI, that is, neither under nor overweight."

Vegans are thought to make up almost 1.2 percent of the UK's population, and the Vegan Society suggests there are as many as 600,000.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Science, Food, UK News, Weird