出版社：Sociedad Chilena de Nutrición, Bromatología y Toxicología
其他摘要：Background: Vegetarian diets are becoming every day more popular due the increase of health concerns, moral motives and animal respect. Objective: To determinate through an online survey the vegetarian and vegan reasons to follow this type of feeding and their nutritional knowledge about the vegetarian diet. Subjects and methods: 319 surveys were done, 266 subjects declared themselves as vegetarians and 53 subjects as vegans. The main source of nutritional information in those groups was Internet (45%) and the main reason for being a vegetarian or vegan were moral principles (74%). In terms of nutritional knowledge and food sources, the vegans were more informed than the vegetarian population. Both groups did not know the consequences of micronutrients deficiencies and food sources of omega 3, vitamin D, vitamin B-12, zinc and iron. Conclusions: Vegetarians and vegans have insufficient knowledge to reach a balanced diet and to avoid micronutrients deficiencies. Health professionals should be prepared in this area to give adequate nutritional advice.
