Is raising a baby vegan a risky experiment or a safe, ethical choice? Ben-Gurion University and Health Ministry researchers tracked growth from birth to age 2 1/2 of 1,198,818 infants. Of those, 98.5% came from omnivorous households, 1.2% from vegetarian families and 0.3% from vegan families. The findings showed that growth trajectories during the first two years of life were largely similar across dietary groups. Weight gain and height progression did not differ in any clinically meaningful way between infants from vegan, vegetarian and omnivorous households.
YNET GLOBAL: Is raising a baby vegan a risky experiment or a safe, ethical choice? As more parents adopt plant-based diets, some are extending that lifestyle to their children from birth. But can a meat-free diet meet the biological demands of the fastest-growing period of human life?
A large-scale Israeli study led by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the Nutrition Division of the Health Ministry offers a population-level answer. Drawing on data from nearly 1.2 million infants, the research, published in JAMA Network Open, suggests that vegan and vegetarian diets do not impair early childhood growth. However, the findings come with an important caveat: such diets must be carefully planned and professionally supervised…
The research drew on Israel’s national network of maternal and child health clinics, known as Tipat Halav, which monitor growth and development during early childhood. About 95% of Israeli infants attend these clinics, and roughly 70% of children born between 2014 and 2023 were included in the database analyzed for the study…
The dataset included 1,198,818 infants. Of those, 98.5% came from omnivorous households, 1.2% from vegetarian families and 0.3% from vegan families. Researchers examined weight, height and head circumference from birth to age 2½…
The findings showed that growth trajectories during the first two years of life were largely similar across dietary groups. Weight gain and height progression did not differ in any clinically meaningful way between infants from vegan, vegetarian and omnivorous households.
In other words, infants raised in plant-based households grew at a comparable pace to their peers.
The researchers did identify one early difference: babies from vegan households were slightly more likely to be born with low birth weight.
According to the data, 6.1% of infants from vegan families were born with low birth weight, compared with 4.6% among infants from omnivorous families. The difference, while statistically measurable, was relatively small…
“By age 2, that gap had completely disappeared,” Avital said. “We did not find meaningful differences in height or head circumference either.” By 24 months, the rate of underweight infants stood at approximately 1% across all dietary groups. Rates of stunted growth were similarly low: 3.1% among omnivores, 3.4% among vegetarians and 3.9% among vegans, differences that were not statistically significant…
While the findings support the safety of plant-based diets during infancy under proper supervision, the researchers emphasize that nutritional vigilance remains essential, particularly during pregnancy and the early years of rapid growth. For parents considering raising their children on vegetarian or vegan diets, the message is clear: it can be done safely, but it should be done thoughtfully. EITAN GEFEN
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