Does a Vegetarian Eating Pattern Affect a Child’s Nutrition Status and Growth?

A 2022 paper, Vegetarian Diet, Growth, and Nutrition in Early Childhood: a Longitudinal Cohort Study (1), has gained traction on social media. Vegetarian eating patterns are popular with children (and adults) for a variety of reasons and have recently received additional attention for their impact on the sustainability of our food system (2-4).

The PEN^® Team took a closer look at the study to assess if the current PEN recommendations related to children and vegetarian eating...