The effect of a vegan diet and physical activity on bone ultrasound attenuation of the calcaneus
Item
- Title
- The effect of a vegan diet and physical activity on bone ultrasound attenuation of the calcaneus
- Author(s)
- Irvine, Andrew
- Abstract
- Calcium, Vitamin D and protein are vital for developing peak bone mass, however typical vegan diets have been shown to be lacking in these vital nutrients. In contrast vegan populations have been shown to engage in more physical activity than omnivore counterparts. The aim of the present study was to evaluate what effect a vegan diet and differing activity levels would have on calcaneal bone ultrasound attenuation (BUA) in comparison with omnivore counterparts. In total 64 vegan were recruited from the Bristol Vegan Fayre over the course of 5 years, in addition to 35 omnivore participants recruited from a university. All participants had their diets, bone-specific physical activity and calcaneal bone ultrasound attenuation measured and analysed via food frequency questionnaires (FFQ), bone-specific physical activity questionnaires (BPAQ) and quantitative ultrasound scans (QUS) respectively. The results revealed that vegans consumed more calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc than omnivores; while omnivores consumed more vitamin D. Protein intake was not significantly different between vegan and omnivores. Omnivore’s were found to have significantly higher past (60.3 ± 63.6 versus 47.7 ± 63.0), current (12.3 ± 15.7 versus 6.3 ± 10.3), and total (36.3 ± 34.6 versus 27.0 ± 31.4) mean BPAQ scores when compared to vegans. Raw BUA measurements were converted into BUA T-Scores and BUA Z-Scores; Omnivores had a higher mean BUA T-Score when compared to vegans (0.02 ± 0.97 versus -0.39 ± 0.85) but no significant difference could be found in regards to mean BUA Z-Scores (-0.09 ± 0.97 versus -0.11 ± 0.86). No statistically significant differences could be found between BPAQ scores, BMI, years vegan or protein, calcium and vitamin D intakes in vegans in either the low, normal or high BUA Z-Score categories. The result was the same in the low, normal and high categories in the omnivore group with the exception of the BPAQ scores which were shown to positively correlate with increased BUA Z-Scores. In conclusion it was found that vegans consume more calcium and other bone health related micronutrients, except vitamin D, and participate in less physical activity than omnivores; but this does not equate to a difference in BUA Z-Score’s between the two groups.
- presented at
- British College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Date Accepted
- 2013
- Date Submitted
- 16.11.2018 10:36:01
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Number of pages
- 25
- Submitted by:
- 4457
- Pub-Identifier
- 16347
- Inst-Identifier
- 1076
- Recommended
- 1
- Item sets
- Thesis
Irvine, Andrew, “The effect of a vegan diet and physical activity on bone ultrasound attenuation of the calcaneus”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 3, 2025, https://www.osteopathic-research.org/s/orw/item/2002