Vegetarians vs. Meat Eaters: It might sound like a summer blockbuster playing at your local co-op, but it's an age-old battle for people with strong opinions about their dietary choices. The truth is, both omnivores and vegetarians can enjoy healthy, well-balanced diets that can reduce long-term disease risk and provide plenty of day-to-day energy and fuel. Because of the tremendous individual variations in foods that both vegetarians and meat eaters enjoy, it's hard to say whether one eating plan is "healthier" than the other. But scientists do have some insights.

Weight and BMI

Vegetarians tend to have lower body mass indexes (BMI) than meat eaters. BMI is a measure of a person's body fat based on weight and height, but it's not always accurate. A subset of vegetarians, vegans – who eat only plant-based foods and no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products – tend to have even lower BMIs and body weights than vegetarians. According to a study published in 2015 in the journal Nutrition, people who adopt a vegan diet tend to lose more weight than those who adopt a vegetarian, semi-vegetarian or pescatarian diet. A research review published in 2014 in the journal Nutrients found that nearly 30 percent of omnivores were overweight or obese, but only about 18 percent of vegetarians and 13 percent of vegans were overweight or obese.

Disease Risk

In general, vegetarians and vegans tend to eat less cholesterol and saturated fat than omnivores and more fiber, vitamins and minerals. In addition to having lower BMIs, their blood cholesterol and blood pressure levels are usually lower as well. Possibly as a result of those facts, vegetarians have a lower overall risk of getting heart disease, cancer or Type 2 diabetes. It's also worth noting that vegetarians are less likely to be smokers or drinkers than meat eaters, which may also impact that data.

Nutrient Deficiencies