A recent study suggests that older adults who avoid meat may be somewhat less likely to reach age 100 than those who eat it. However, the findings are more complex than they first appear and should not be taken as a simple verdict against plant based diets.
Researchers followed more than 5,000 adults in China who were age 80 or older and enrolled in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, a nationally representative project that began in 1998. By 2018, participants who did not eat meat were less likely to become centenarians compared with those who consumed meat.
At first glance, this seems to clash with decades of research linking vegetarian and plant based diets to better health. Such eating patterns have repeatedly been associated with lower risks of heart disease and stroke, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. These benefits are often attributed to higher fibre intake and reduced saturated fat consumption.
Before drawing conclusions, it is important to understand who was studied and how aging changes the body’s nutritional needs.
How Aging Changes Nutrition Needs
The study focused exclusively on adults 80 and older, a group with very different dietary requirements than younger adults. As people age, the body goes through significant physiological changes. Energy expenditure decreases, and losses in muscle mass, bone density, and appetite are common. Together, these changes increase the risk of malnutrition and frailty.
Most evidence for the health benefits of diets that exclude meat comes from studies of younger adults rather than frail older populations. Some research suggests older non-meat eaters face a higher risk of fractures due to lower calcium and protein intake.
In later life, nutritional priorities shift. Rather than focusing on preventing long-term diseases, the goal becomes maintaining muscle mass, preventing weight loss and ensuring every mouthful delivers plenty of nutrients.
The study’s findings may, therefore, reflect the nutritional challenges of advanced age, rather than any inherent problems with plant-based diets. Crucially, this doesn’t diminish the well-established health benefits of these diets for younger and healthier adults.
Body Weight and the Underweight Risk
Here’s a crucial detail: the lower likelihood of reaching 100 among non-meat eaters was only observed in underweight participants. No such association was found in older adults of healthy weight.
Being underweight in older age is already strongly linked with increased risks of frailty and death. Body weight therefore appears to be a key factor in explaining these findings.
Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/
