The study, which is midway to completion and includes 96,000 people from the United States and Canada, presents findings just as dramatic, principal investigator Gary E. Fraser, MD, PhD, said at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' 2012 Food 'n' Nutrition Conference and Expo.
Vegetarian Adventist men live to an average of 83.3 years and vegetarian women 85.7 years - 9.5 and 6.1 years, respectively, longer than other Californians, Fraser explained.
The Adventist Health Study 2 also found that
Vegans are, on average, 30 pounds lighter than meat eaters.
Vegans are also five units lighter on the BMI scale than meat-eaters.
Vegetarians and vegans are also less insulin resistant than meat-eaters.
Lean people are also more likely to exercise regularly, eat plants, and avoid cigarettes than overweight people, suggesting that numerous factors are boosting the overall health of these participants.
Pesco-vegetarians and semi-vegetarians who limit animal products, but still eat meat once a week or so, have "intermediate protection" against lifestyle diseases.
Perhaps the most staggering finding is that obesity cuts an African-American's life span by 6.2 percent.
The study population is 25 percent African-American and half vegetarian.
Source: ANI
