Vegetarian Women at Higher Risk of Hip Fracture?

The moral of this story is at the end.

This is a large study.

It does not show clear cause and effect.

But it does hold a lesson for those consuming more plants and going meat-free.

This is a large study of over 26,000 middle-aged UK women that associates women eating a vegetarian diet with a 33% higher risk of hip fracture versus regular meat-eating Ma’ams.

University of Leeds investigators looked at the risk of hip fracture in occasional meat-eaters; pescatarians (people who eat fish but not meat); and vegetarians compared to regular meat-eaters. Over 20 years.

Not a shabby study.

After adjustment for factors such as smoking and age, “vegetarians” were the only diet group with an elevated risk of hip fracture.

This study is one of very few studies to compare risk of hip fracture in vegetarians and meat-eaters where the occurrence of hip fracture was confirmed from hospital records.

Keep in mind. There are healthy vegetarians. And junk vegetarians (those that eat anything they want, from chips to fries, but just not meat).

Vegetarian diets often have lower intakes of nutrients that are linked with bone and muscle health. “If”, that’s a big if, the veggie folks don’t eat mindfully.

Plant based food is healthy. Don’t get me wrong.

You remember Michael Pollen’s dictum: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Mine is “Eat smarter, eat less, move more.”

I digress…