Vegan diet can help overweight people lose kilos, study shows
Vegan diets for at least 12 weeks may be effective in causing a significant weight loss in people who are overweight or have type 2 diabetes
According to a meta-analysis, identifying 11 trials with a total of 796 participants, following a vegan diet for three months reduced body weight by roughly 4.1kg (9lb) on average and reduced blood sugar levels when compared to control diets. Blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels had little or no effect.
The consumption of vegan diets -excluding all foods from animal sources- is associated with improvements in body weight, glycated hemoglobin (HbA), total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in people with overweight or type 2 diabetes according to the study led by Anne-Ditte Termannsen at Copenhagen University Hospital.
Not only that, a plant-based, and specifically a vegan diet, may also lower the carbon footprint and thus be beneficial for the climate.
One of the reasons why vegan diets are likely to lead to weight loss is because they are usually linked with a lower calorie intake due to a lower content of fat and higher content of dietary fiber.
Although the study is not without its limitations, going on a vegan diet might not only be more beneficial for yourself when trying to lose weight but also to the environment.
