Lentil spread instead of liver sausage on school sandwiches, carrots instead of sausages in the daycare lunch box and soya patties instead of pork schnitzel on the plate at home. More and more people are eating without meat, meat products and fish – but is a purely vegetarian diet good and right for the little ones and the very young during the growth phase? Some say yes, some say yes and no. There are risks and advantages.
Veggie for children must be well done
“You can’t say across the board that a vegetarian diet is always good, it depends on the composition,” says the chairman of the Children’s Health Foundation, Berthold Koletzko. “There are also the so-called biscuit and pudding vegetarians who eat poorly, with lots of vegan convenience products or popular plant-based drinks that often unfortunately have a poor nutrient composition.”
A diet rich in plant-based foods is indisputably recommended. “But that doesn’t mean that it has to be free of meat and fish.” There are also study data that indicate risks to nutrient supply and growth with a purely vegetarian diet.
“A vegetarian diet is perfectly possible in childhood if you do it right,” stresses the Munich metabolism expert. An adequate supply of important nutrients such as iron, zinc, iodine, vitamin B12 or omega-3 fatty acids can become critical with a meat- and fish-free diet.
However, a well-balanced diet that includes eggs, milk and dairy products can help. However, “the risks are greater the faster the child grows, i.e. in infancy, early childhood and again during the growth spurt in puberty.” Koletzki advises eating a little fish or meat now and again during these phases.
A good vegetarian diet also has many advantages, he explains. Examples: The calorie intake is lower, which prevents obesity in children. The high fiber content has a positive effect on intestinal health. But these benefits can also be achieved by eating fish and high-quality meat every now and then.
Iron and B12 deficiencies are sometimes noticed in doctor’s offices
The Bonn pediatrician Axel Gerschlauer points out the positive aspects of a wholesome vegetarian diet, which in principle also apply to children: “We would also be happy if children had a reduced risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease or cancer in later life.” However, the spokesman for the North Rhine-Westphalian Association of Pediatricians and Adolescent Doctors (BVKJ) – as does the foundation – expressly warns against a vegan diet without any animal products such as milk and eggs.
When he examines infants or small children in his practice, he sometimes comes across deficiency symptoms that could be caused by abstaining from meat, reports Gerschlauer. “The risk of abstaining from meat in childhood – and the younger the child, the more risky – is possible nutrient deficiencies. A lack of iron and B12 can lead to anemia, weakness, neurological damage and developmental disorders.” Most children and young people on a meat-free diet who come for a blood test for the first time are not getting enough iron and B12.
Children are not small adults
“Children are not small adults and, due to the growth and development of their brains and other organs, they have significantly higher demands on a consistently good supply of nutrients than adults, who already have everything they need,” explains the pediatrician. The “limiting factor,” however, is the amount of nutrients they can absorb.
“A child’s stomach is about the size of your own fist.” The nutrients should therefore not be too large. One argument in favor of meat: meat-based porridge for the first phase of life contains iron in a highly concentrated form. And B12 can also be found in sufficient quantities in meat. As a starting point for a vegetarian diet for children, the BVKJ spokesperson recommends: “The older, the better.”
Safe – provided meat is specifically replaced
Bonn researcher Ute Alexy believes that a vegetarian diet for children is “safe”. However, there is one key requirement: “Don’t just leave out meat, but replace it with whole grain products or pulses such as lentils, beans and peas.” She also points out that the official nutritional recommendation for children is still a mixed diet – that is, with meat and fish. The German Nutrition Society (DGE) is currently working on food-related recommendations for children and young people, which should also include a “vegetarian pattern”, explains the nutrition expert who is involved in the work.
According to Alexy, children should drink milk – firstly because of the calcium it provides for bone development. And: In Germany, conventionally kept cows in particular are fed concentrated feed with iodine added, so milk also contributes to the iodine supply of children and young people, she explains. Two studies with around 400 participants each – one with 1- to 3-year-olds, the other with 6- to 18-year-olds – showed no deficits in the group of vegetarians, says the scientist, who was involved in both analyses.
There is still a lot of room for improvement in terms of data and knowledge
Even if the two studies (VeCh Diet Study and VeChi Youth Study) are not representative, the results are considered important information. The data on vegetarian diets for children is still thin. There are also no figures on how many children eat a vegetarian diet, the researcher regrets. It is assumed that 7 to 8 percent of adults eat a meat-free diet. “And you can assume that most of them also feed their children this way.”
According to Gerschlauer, parents should also seek advice from nutritionists. “There is still a lot of room for improvement among adult vegetarians when it comes to knowledge about a wholesome vegetarian diet – especially when it comes to children.”
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