Here's why vegetarians live longer than meat-eaters

There are plenty of studies that suggest vegetarians live longer than meat-eaters.

For instance, one study of 95,000 people in the USA found that vegetarians had a 12% lower risk of death from all causes.

But why? IFL Science set out to try and figure it out, using data from one of the largest studies of aging in the world. The Sax Institute 45 and Up Study looks at a pool of over 260,000 people in Australia ages 45 and over.

Over a span of six years, 16,836 died. IFLScience looked at the risk of early death, while adjusting for a range of other factors.

And they found that being vegetarian made no real difference.

So why do some other studies say vegetarians live longer then? They came to the conclusion that people who are vegetarian also generally tend to have a healthier lifestyle overall. They are more likely to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, to exercise regularly, drink less alcohol and not to smoke.

All of which positively affect your life span. Basically, if you get drunk ever night and never exercise, cutting out meat isn’t stop you being incredibly unhealthy. But the sort of person who chooses to be vegetarian tends not to be the sort of person who gets drunk ever night and never exercises – so they tend to live longer.

So what’s the lesson here? Being a vegetarian might not be the answer to all your health woes, but we should all try to be more like Lisa Simpson, and less like Homer Simpson.

HT: IFL Science

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