Veganing Away the Fat?

A meta-analysis (one that combines several datasets), suggests adopting a vegan diet is an effective way of losing weight, as well as countering type 2 diabetes (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/may/05/vegan-diet-can-help-overweight-people-shed-pounds-study-shows). The analysis involved almost 800 overweight subjects with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 25 and/or type 2 diabetes. Subjects on the vegan diet for 3 months, lost an average of just over 4 kg, compared to counterparts on a 'control' diet. Vegan diets reduce calorie intake and have less fat and more dietary fibre than 'control' intakes. Vegan diets also reduced blood glucose values, countering the effects of type 2 diabetes. It had, however, little impact on blood pressure or levels of cholesterol/triglycerides. Adopting a vegan diet, even for a relatively short period, consequently appears to be a very effective way of improving BMI values and general health. It also supports the strategy of reducing the meat content of food intake.