Diet and Lipid Profile of Vegetarians and Non-Vegetarians in Some Selected Communities in Accra

Abstract

Background: Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining mainly from the consumption of meat, poultry, seafood and flesh of any animal while depending mainly on foods of plant origin. Vegetarian diets are typically low in fat, particularly saturated fat and high in dietary fibre, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. Plasma total cholesterols and low density lipoproteins (LDL) cholesterol levels of vegetarians are consistently lower than non- vegetarians. Although vegetarians do not eat meat there may be other sources of saturated fat in the form of unhealthy fat and oils in their diet which may affect their lipid profile. There is paucity of data on dietary composition of vegetarians in Ghana. Objectives: The main aim of the study was to compare diet and serum lipid profile of vegetarians and non -vegetarians in Accra. Methodology: A case – control study was carried out involving 54 vegetarians and 59 age and gender matched non-vegetarians. Blood pressure and anthropometric measurement (weight, height, visceral fat and body fat) was measured for all the participants. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain socio- demographic data of the participants. Dietary intake was assessed using a 24-hour recall and food frequency questionnaire. Overnight fasting venous blood samples were collected for analysis of serum lipid profile. Results: The mean age of vegetarians and non-vegetarians was 54.24 ± 13.86 and 53.9 ± 11.2 years, respectively. No significant differences were found regarding nutritional status based on Body Mass Index (BMI). Diastolic blood pressure was significantly higher in vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians (p = 0.011). With the exception of HDL- C, serum triglycerides, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol were not significantly different between vegetarians and non- vegetarians (p = 0.012). Most of the protein intakes of the vegetarians (77.8%) were below the recommended daily intake. Majority of the vegetarians had lower intakes of vitamin B 12 and B 6 (85.2% and 83.3% respectively) than the recommended nutrient intake. Also the mean intake of folate was significantly different between vegetarians than the non-vegetarians (p= 0.002). Conclusion: There was no significant difference in BMI between the two dietary groups. The study was not able to clearly establish whether vegetarian diet improves the lipid status of an individual. With the exception of protein, there were no significant differences in the macro nutrients intake between the vegetarians and non- vegetarians (p = 0.001).