Vegetarian Diet May Lower Risk For Developing Metabolic Syndrome

MedWire (5/18, Withers) reported, “Individuals who consume a vegetarian diet have a lower risk for developing the metabolic syndrome than those who do not,” according to a study published in the journal Diabetes Care. After examining the diets of some 773 people, researchers found “those adhering to a vegetarian dietary pattern were at a 56% lower risk for developing the metabolic syndrome than nonvegetarians,” and that “triglycerides, glucose, blood pressure, waist circumference, and body mass index were all significantly lower in vegetarians than in nonvegetarians, even after adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, smoking, alcohol intake, physical activity, and dietary intake.”