People who don’t eat meat may be less likely to reach 100 years old than those who eat meat, according to a recent study. But before you reconsider a plant-based diet, know that there’s more to these discoveries than meets the eye.
of the study Researchers followed more than 5,000 Chinese adults aged 80 and older who participated in the China Longitudinal Health and Longevity Study, a nationally representative study that began in 1998. By 2018, people on a meat-free diet were less likely to be over 100 years old than those who ate meat.
On the surface, this seems to contradict decades of research showing that plant-based diets are healthy. For example, a vegetarian diet is consistently associated with a lower risk of: heart disease and stroke, type 2 diabetes and obesity. Some of these benefits come from higher fiber intake and lower saturated fat consumption.
So what’s going on? There are several important factors to consider before making any firm conclusions.
Your body’s needs change as you age
The study focused on adults over 80 years of age, whose nutritional needs differ markedly from younger people. As we age, physiological changes change both the amount we eat and the nutrients we need. Energy consumption is reducedmeanwhile muscle mass, bone density and appetite I often decline. These changes increase risks such as: malnutrition and frailty.
Most of the evidence for the health benefits of meat-free diets comes from studies of younger people rather than frail older adults. Some studies suggest that older people who don’t eat meat face risks such as: fracture This is due to low intake of calcium and protein.
Nutrition priorities in old age shift. Rather than focusing on long-term disease prevention, the goal is to preserve muscle mass, prevent weight loss, and ensure you’re providing enough nutrients in every bite.
Therefore, the results of this study may reflect nutritional challenges posed by older adults rather than issues specific to plant-based diets. Importantly, this does not undermine the established health benefits of these diets for younger, healthier adults.
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Here are the important details. A 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 as you get older is already strongly associated with an increased risk of: frailty and death. Therefore, body weight may be an important factor explaining these findings.
It’s also worth remembering that this is an observational study, meaning it shows associations rather than cause and effect. Just because two things happen at the same time doesn’t mean one causes the other.
The results of this study are the so-called “The paradox of obesity” In aging, a small increase in weight often improves survival later in life.
Notably, the reduced likelihood of reaching 100 observed among non-meat eaters was not evident in those whose diets included fish, dairy products, and eggs. These foods provide essential nutrients to maintain muscle and bone health, including high-quality protein, vitamin B12, calcium, and vitamin D.
Older people who ate this diet were just as likely to live to age 100 as those who ate meat. The researchers suggested that including moderate amounts of animal-derived foods may help prevent nutritional deficiencies and loss of lean muscle mass in very old people compared to consuming an entirely plant-based diet.
What this means for healthy aging
Rather than focusing on whether one diet is generally better than another, the key message is that nutrition should be tailored to the stage of life. Energy requirements decrease with age (due to decreased resting energy expenditure), but requirements for some nutrients increase.
Even older adults need enough protein, vitamin B12, calcium, and vitamin D, especially to maintain muscle mass and prevent frailty. As we age, preventing malnutrition and weight loss is often more important than preventing long-term chronic diseases.
A plant-based diet is still a healthy option, but it may require careful planning, and in some cases you may need to take supplements to ensure adequate nutrition. especially in later life.
The bottom line is that the nutritional needs of a 90-year-old can be very different from those of a 50-year-old, and dietary advice needs to reflect these changes over the lifespan. What works well for you now may need adjustment as you get older, and that’s completely normal.
