Veganism is not health-conscious as such

(Image: Pixabay CC0) - Vegans are considered health-conscious both in the public and in their own perception. Researchers at the Centre for Public Health have now examined the dietary patterns and physical activity behaviour of vegans and found a discrepancy between appearance and reality in many cases. Although many vegans exercise more than the average person, the widespread consumption of industrially processed foods in this group cannot be classified as beneficial to health. The results of the study were recently published in the scientific journal "Nutrients". The research group led by Maria Wakolbinger and Sandra Haider from MedUni Vienna's Centre for Public Health conducted an online survey of 516 people with an average age of 28 who had been vegan for at least three months when the study began. As the responses to the survey demonstrated, "being vegan is not per se synonymous with being 'healthy'", emphasises study director Maria Wakolbinger. As undisputed as the benefits of a plant-based diet for health are in science in the meantime, the degree of processing of the consumed food has to be taken into account, particularly in this category.