Being vegetarian and being short..

[bloodyunicorns]

Ds 15 is veggie. Has been for 4 years. He's on the short side - 5 foot 4. But he's muscly, fit, and knows about nutrition and makes sure he gets enough protein.

Do you think he'd grow more/faster if he ate meat?? Is he stunting himself?!

Potential for what?

It’s not unfortunately. Just Google it yourself.

it’s a bit like eliminating diary and thinking that diary alternatives provide the same level of calcium. Just by googling ‘bioavailability of calcium in diary compared to non-diary + abstract’ you get thousands of peer reviewed papers which prove that diary is a better source of calcium.

Dairy even.

DS1 (17) has been veggie since he was about 8. Not one of the really healthy ones either. He eats meat substitutes. No lentils. A variety of veg, but nothing 'exciting'

Hes about 5ft 10 and possibly still growing. I'm only 5ft 1, his dad is 5ft 9/10 (can't remember exactly)
My brother is about 1/2 inch taller than DS. A couple of previous generations have had men of 6ft/6ft 2.
My point being that he was probably never going to be massive. I can't imagine his veggie diet has made much, if any, difference.

My daughter has been veggie from birth and is the second tallest girl in her class.

I did. It’s bollocks.

It is commonly, although mistakenly, thought that the amino acid intake may be inadequate in vegetarian diets. As we and others have argued, the amounts and proportions of amino acids consumed by vegetarians and vegans are typically more than sufficient to meet and exceed individual daily requirements, provided a reasonable variety of foods are consumed and energy intake needs are being met. The claim that certain plant foods are “missing” specific amino acids is demonstrably false.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6893534/

Does he want to? Because there’s nothing that would have made me or my brother eat meat. It’s his body, not yours.

My brother and I were vegetarian from very young. Parents were 5’2” and 5’9”. My brother is 6’ and I’m 5’6”. I do remember my brother growing about 5 inches between 16 and 18.

My daughter is vegetarian and she is 5’4” at 13, still growing.

My friends kids have been vegan since birth and her sons are both 5’10 at 16 and 17, parents are average height.

Honestly, this is bonkers. I was raised vegetarian in the 70s/80s and our diet wasn’t amazing, not as varied as I eat now. I am nearly 6 foot (female), my siblings are taller. My children also don’t eat meat and are over the 90th centile in height. But you know what: tall people on all sides of the family. It’s genetics.

I'd be tempted to feed him some meat tbh

@CloseYourEyesAndSee I'm pointing out I'm significantly smaller than all my family and there's no need to be rude!

My 15-year-old lifelong vegetarian DS is very nearly 6 ft and has always been one of the tallest in his friendship group. He towers over me and his dad (I'm 5 ft 5 and DH is 5 ft 8).

‘On average children aged between 5 and 10 who eat plant based diets are 3cm shorter than those who eat meat’. I’m not for or against raising vegetarian children. But are people this incapable of Googling proven studies anymore?

Reading further into the study, tehy also have 4-6% lower bone minerals, are more prone to bone fractures and osteoporosis, and are 3 times more likely to have lower vitamin b-12 than meat eaters.

You're talking about a vegan diet here.

clearly can't googlr

Clearly can’t what? 😂

I grew up veggie since conception, have never eaten meat or fish (or even much egg) and I am 5 ft 8”. Also quite muscular and put on muscle tone easily.

Never broken a bone. Always had good b12, high iron and good nutrients (except vit D, fixed now). Unusually strong apparently.

I am significantly taller than both my parents too.

My son has never eaten meat, and even avoids dairy. He's 15, 5'9, muscly, and plays rugby. (Myself and DH are both on the short side).
There are posters in his team much shorter and smaller than him, who eat meat.

Regardless, what kind of parent would push their child to compromise their beliefs for the sake of 3cm? Those obsessed with looks and celeb culture?

That study was about vegan and vegetarian children. It was the vegan children that were on average 3cm shorter, not the vegetarian ones. Additionally, no follow up was done to see if those vegan children were shorter as adults - it could simply be that vegan children grow at different rates at different points than meat eating children but end up similar heights as adults.

My brother never ate meat he’s 6’1.

But are you talking about a vegan diet? Because the OP is talking about a vegetarian diet. Just eggs on their own have all essential amino acids and just about every amino acid.