Attention to vegetarian diet in children

Vegetarian diet in children and adolescents: what should parents pay attention to?

06/24/2013

For children and adolescents, vegetarian food is the trend. However, there are parents and doctors who fear malnutrition. Especially among teenage girls, concerns are expressed.

Pity for animals and rejection of mass animal husbandry
In an internet video that has been circulating for weeks, Luiz Antonio, who is only a few years old, refuses to eat animals. The video, which has now been clicked millions of times, put the topic vegetarian diet again in the limelight. Even Mira Rudmann from Cologne was only eight years old when she decided to stop eating meat. Her mother Jessica told: „Her girlfriend was a vegetarian, and at some point she began to deal with the subject.“ She was sorry for the animals and she did not want to be to blame for mass animal husbandry. Therefore, she told her parents to stop eating meat in the future. „The next morning there was a very short hesitation when she realized she could not eat salami bread anymore, but then she pulled it off, "said her mother.

More girls than boys are vegetarian
Luiz and Mira are no exception. There are more and more children and young people who decide to do without meat. Sebastian Zösch, Deputy Chairman of the Vegetarian Federation Germany (Vebu) explains: „About 15 percent of the girls and 5 percent of the boys are vegetarians. "Eight to nine percent of the total population eat vegetarian. „Young people are still much more flexible than adults“, so Zösch. Girls would feel closer to animals than boys and therefore meat often „disgusting“ Find. In adulthood, the female proportion among vegetarians is 70 percent. „The typical vegetarian is female, young, educated and lives in the big city.“

Health promoting as mixed diet
In families where no one is vegetarian, a child's decision to stop eating meat may raise concerns. „I find the motives completely comprehensible, "says Mira's mother, „but that of course makes cooking more complicated. And one wonders immediately whether the child also gets all the nutrients and vitamins it needs. "The head of the Institute for Alternative and Sustainable Nutrition in Gießen, Markus Keller, says that in principle, nothing against a vegetarian diet in adolescents was. „Studies show that vegetarian-fed children, on average, implement the recommendations for a health-promoting diet much better than children who consume mixed foods. "He advises parents to take their children's wishes seriously: „This is a great opportunity to try the vegetarian cuisine yourself. "

Eliminate iron deficiency through nutrition
Jörg Dötsch, director of the Children's Hospital at the Cologne University Hospital, on the other hand, raises concerns that, in contrast to adults, a vegetarian diet in the growth phase is much more critical. „Especially with vitamin B12 and iron, it can quickly lead to deficiency symptoms. "Vitamin B12 is essential in the development of the nervous system and are found mainly in meat, but there are also theories that state that a Bitamin B12 deficiency due to a According to Dr. Vivian V. Vetrano, a Doctor of Science in Natural Hygiene, City University of LA, bacteria living in the human body produce the so-called Coenzyme B12, an active form of vitamin B12 Intestine, but also in the oral cavity, the esophagus, the bronchi and around the tonsils.The Cologne doctor sees the vegetarian diet in young girls as a problem, as they come due to their period to a lack of iron could. „Typical symptoms of deficiency symptoms include paleness, open skin, fatigue and loss of performance. "Therefore, he advises vegetarian diet accompanied by the pediatrician: „Every six months, a blood count should be taken to control the iron and B12 levels. And weight control should also take place. "Whether this is really necessary, the participants have to decide for themselves, but an iron deficiency can be usually by a consequent change of diet to foods with high iron content, which includes plant foods such as certain spices (black Pepper, dried coriander or parsley), lamb's lettuce, peas, beans, broccoli or rye and whole wheat grain.

Assumptions of scientists unclear
In part, even bizarre theses are created to spread alleged counter-arguments to vegetarian food. So there is supposedly an accumulation of eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia among juvenile vegetarians. In the journal „According to a study, 25 percent of young vegetarians would exhibit unhealthy behaviors, such as exaggerated diets or forced vomiting to control their body weight, but no contexts were clarified and so scientists only guessed Pediatrician Dötsch recommends parents to deal responsibly with their children about their motivations: „If the child really has an ethical problem with animals, then you should sit down with him and make him understand: I support you, but we must work together so that you feed yourself so that you do not get sick. "

Balanced diet important
People who do not eat meat should make sure that enough whole grains are on the menu to consume enough iron. According to the research institute for child nutrition in Dortmund also the combination of food is important: vegetable iron from grain can best use the body with vitamin C, dairy products inhibited the intake. The little Mira from Cologne could probably not quite prevail as a vegetarian. Her mother said: „I convinced them to eat a piece of red meat once a week. And I guarantee her to buy only 100 percent organic meat from very, very happy cows. "However, there seems to be an increasing trend towards meatless nutrition, and there are also threats for vegetarian-fed children „No disadvantages if the parents pay attention to a balanced diet and not just omit the meat“, quotes the news agency „DAPD“ the nutritionist Kerstin Bernhardt. (Ad)