Growth parameters and IGF-1 axis biomarkers differ among omnivorous, vegetarian, and vegan children.

Authors

Inola E Allner, Wieland Kiess, Jürgen Kratzsch, Mandy Vogel

Published in

European journal of nutrition. Volume 65. Issue 6. Aug 29, 2026. Epub Aug 29, 2026.

Abstract

Whereas an increasing number of families choose a vegan or a vegetarian diet, the effects of a plant-based nutrition on height and BMI of children and their IGF-1- and IGFBP-3-serum concentrations as measures for growth and development are not entirely described.
7344 serum samples were investigated from 2,508 healthy participants in the age of 3 months to 19 years. Anthropometric measurements as well as IGF-1-, and IGFBP-3-serum concentrations were compared between dietary groups using optimal 1:3 pair matching (from the age of 10).
Vegan children were shorter than vegetarians after adjustment for pubertal status (β = -0.59, p = 0.006) but the height of vegetarians was not different from omnivores. Vegans showed lower BMI-SDS than vegetarians, most prominently in the TS-adjusted model (β = -1.01, p = 0.009). Omnivores had the highest BMI-SDS (0.32 SDS). Vegans had lower IGF-1 levels than vegetarians and omnivores in the age-adjusted model (ß = -0.52, p = 0.031). Vegetarians exhibited lower IGF-1 concentrations than omnivores in age- and TS- adjusted models. Vegans showed significantly lower IGFBP-3-SDS than vegetarians in TS-adjusted models (β = -0.75, p = 0.042). IGFBP-3 values were lower in vegetarians than in omnivores after adjustment for age (β = -0.18, p = 0.005).
Children following a vegan diet are significantly smaller and have a lower BMI than their peers. Both, vegetarian and vegan diets are associated with lower BMIs and lower IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 values. These findings highlight the potential relevance of dietary composition for growth childhood.
LIFE Child is registered with Clinical Trials.gov (NCT02550236) since October 2010. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02550236.

PMID:
42667434
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 30 Aug 2026.

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