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Body composition analysis for healthy Italian vegetarians

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Abstract.

The elementary nutritional needs of vegetarians are totally, or in great part, supplied by vegetarian food; thus the body composition of vegetarians could differ from that of omnivorous persons. The objective of the present study was to compare healthy Italian vegetarians to healthy omnivorous individuals in terms of body composition, determined using dual X-ray absorptiometry. The study population consisted of 20 vegetarians [mean age (±SD), 34.78±15.07 years; mean BMI, 22.41±2.15 kg/m2] and 10 omnivorous persons matched for age and BMI. We found no significant differences between the two groups in terms of fat mass, lean body mass, soft tissue, bone mineral content, or bone mineral density. These findings suggest that the vegetarian diet does not induce negative alterations in body composition.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosciences Building F-Sud, 1st Floor, Room 115, University of Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, I-00133, Rome, Italy

    A. De Lorenzo

  2. Divisions of Human Nutrition and Internal Medicine Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

    V. Siani, E. I. Mohamed, C. Maiolo, N. Di Daniele, A. Ratiu, A. Leonardi & A. De Lorenzo

  3. Department of Biophysics, Medical Research Institute, University of Alexandria, Egypt

    E. I. Mohamed

  4. Scientific Institute “S. Lucia”, Rome, Italy

    A. De Lorenzo

Authors
  1. V. Siani
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  2. E. I. Mohamed
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  3. C. Maiolo
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  4. N. Di Daniele
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  5. A. Ratiu
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  6. A. Leonardi
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  7. A. De Lorenzo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. De Lorenzo.

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Siani, V., Mohamed, E.I., Maiolo, C. et al. Body composition analysis for healthy Italian vegetarians. Acta Diabetol 40 (Suppl 1), s297–s298 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00592-003-0091-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00592-003-0091-1

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