The DOI matches its Crossref record; 28 of the 28 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Comparison of Nutritional Quality of the Vegan, Vegetarian, Semi-Vegetarian, Pesco-Vegetarian and Omnivorous Diet
Open accessAbstract
The number of studies comparing nutritional quality of restrictive diets is limited. Data on vegan subjects are especially lacking. It was the aim of the present study to compare the quality and the contributing components of vegan, vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian and omnivorous diets. Dietary intake was estimated using a cross-sectional online survey with a 52-items food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Healthy Eating Index 2010 (HEI-2010) and the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) were calculated as indicators for diet quality. After analysis of the diet questionnaire and the FFQ, 1475 participants were classified as vegans (n = 104), vegetarians (n = 573), semi-vegetarians (n = 498), pesco-vegetarians (n = 145), and omnivores (n = 155). The most restricted diet, i.e., the vegan diet, had the lowest total energy intake, better fat intake profile, lowest protein and highest dietary fiber intake in contrast to the omnivorous diet. Calcium intake was lowest for the vegans and below national dietary recommendations. The vegan diet received the highest index values and the omnivorous the lowest for HEI-2010 and MDS. Typical aspects of a vegan diet (high fruit and vegetable intake, low sodium intake, and low intake of saturated fat) contributed substantially to the total score, independent of the indexing system used. The score for the more prudent diets (vegetarians, semi-vegetarians and pesco-vegetarians) differed as a function of the used indexing system but they were mostly better in terms of nutrient quality than the omnivores.
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“Furthermore, a vegan diet is high(er) in fruits and vegetables [33,44], which typically contain less energy for a given mass of food (ie, lower energy density foods).”
From Nutritional Considerations for the Vegan Athlete (2023) · cites this paper as [33]
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“The lower n-3 PUFA intake in vegans is reflected in reduced circulating concentrations compared with omnivores [33,26,139].”
From Nutritional Considerations for the Vegan Athlete (2023) · cites this paper as [33]
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“Vegans consume lower amounts of cholesterol and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) [33,26].”
From Nutritional Considerations for the Vegan Athlete (2023) · cites this paper as [33]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Clarys, P., Deliens, T., Huybrechts, I., Deriemaeker, P., Vanaelst, B., De Keyzer, W., Hebbelinck, M., & Mullie, P.
- Affiliations
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BE)
- Ghent University (BE)
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Public Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, Ghent 9000, Belgium
- Corresponding author
- Clarys, Peter
- Venue
- Nutrients
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2014-03-24
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 1318-1332
- ISSN
- 2072-6643 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3967195
- OpenAlex
- W1989906925
- Cited by
- 512
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 37 · 2025: 52 · 2024: 55 · 2023: 63 · 2022: 77 · 2021: 61 · 2020: 51 · 2019: 47 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 4
- FWCI
- 14.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Nutrients (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- VUBIR (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- World Health Organization
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling
- Keywords
- vegan diet, vegetarian diet, semi-vegetarian diet, pesco-vegetarian diet, omnivorous diet, diet quality, Healthy Eating Index-2010, Mediterranean diet score, dietary intake, energy intake, protein intake, dietary fiber intake, calcium intake, fruit and vegetable intake, sodium intake, saturated fat intake
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Animals, Body Weight, Edible Grain, Cross-Sectional Studies, Diet, Feeding Behavior, Female, Fishes, Fruit, Humans, Fabaceae, Male, Meat, Middle Aged, Nutritive Value, Surveys and Questionnaires, Socioeconomic Factors, Vegetables, Diet, Vegetarian, Guidelines as Topic, Diet, Mediterranean, Young Adult
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