BEER-SHEVA, Israel – While the global shift toward plant-based living continues to accelerate, a critical question has lingered for parents and pediatricians: Can a vegan or vegetarian diet support the rapid growth required in the first two years of life?
A landmark study of nearly 1.2 million infants led by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers and the Nutrition Division of the Israeli Ministry of Health suggests the answer is a reassuring yes. The research, published last week in JAMA Network Open, found that infants from vegan and vegetarian households follow growth trajectories nearly identical to their omnivorous peers by age two.
This study analyzed a decade of records (2014–2023) provided by the Israeli Ministry of Health, which tracks the development of approximately 70% of the children in the country. This massive dataset allowed the team—led by Kerem Avital, MPH, and Prof. Danit R. Shahar, PhD, of BGU —to move beyond small-scale debates and provide population-level evidence.
The research revealed several key insights regarding infant development:
• Similar Growth Trajectories: Infants from vegan households closely tracked their omnivorous peers across all measurements, weight, length, and head circumference, with mean differences that were clinically minor (WHO z-score <0.2) and diminished further when adjusted for birth weight.
• Early Differences Diminish: While infants in vegan households had higher odds of being underweight in the first 60 days of life (adjusted odds ratio 1.37), this disparity diminished and was no longer statistically significant by 24 months of age.
• Low Stunting Across All Groups: By age 24 months, stunting rates remained low across all dietary patterns (3.1% for omnivores, 3.4% for vegetarians, and 3.9% for vegans) with no statistically significant differences in odds between groups.
• Diet Quality and Support: The researchers emphasize that well-planned plant-based diets with access to nutritional counseling during pregnancy and infancy are important to support optimal infant development.
“In the context of developed countries, these findings are highly reassuring,” said Kerem Avital, lead researcher and PhD candidate at Ben-Gurion University. “The data suggests that with the proper environment, plant-based diets do not compromise the fundamental physical development of infants.”
As veganism moves from a niche lifestyle to a global health trend, BGU’s research provides the scientific “bridge” needed to inform international public health policy and nutritional counseling for the next generation.
Additional researchers included: Uri Hamiel (Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center), and Naomi Fliss-Isakov and Moran Blaychfeld-Magnaz (Nutrition Division of the Israeli Ministry of Health).
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Jacob Kamaras, executive director of J Cubed Communications, is a former publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.