Prevalence of Vegetarianism and Lifestyle Correlates in a National Study

Introduction: Vegetarianism in its various forms has gained global recognition in part because of the notion that it is healthier; however, associations between plant-based diets and selected lifestyle practices in Israel have yet to be clarified. Methods: A population-based sample consisting of 1396 Israeli adults was collected via telephone survey, between the years 2013-2014. Differentiation between self-defined and actual vegetarians was initially verified (based on food intake). Next, “actual” vegetarian status was studied in relation to demographics and health behaviors. Results: Approximately 5% (N = 65) of respondents (5.8% Jews and 3.0% Arabs) were “self-defined” vegetarians; but only about half (N = 33) adhered to genuine vegetarian diets. By contrast, nearly 2% (N = 26) of those self-identified as non-vegetarians were “actual” vegetarians; thus, 4.4% (N = 59) of the sample were verified “vegetarians.” And while socio-demographic features did not meaningfully capture differences by vegetarianism status, “actual” vegetarians were significantly more likely than non-vegetarians to be physically active (OR = 1.7), use nutritive supplements (OR = 2.4) and read food product labels (OR = 1.9; all P < .01). Conclusions: Aggregately, “actual” vegetarian participants were more inclined to have healthier lifestyle practices relative to their non-vegetarian counterparts. Forthcoming research using larger samples should however exploit constant assessment measures to validate the link between vegetarianism and health-promoting correlates.