Vegetarians are 'less healthy than meat-eaters', scientists say

This study seems to not have been performed as rigorously as you'd expect: http://www.realclearscience.com/journal_club/2014/04/04/stud...

To quote the relevant part: "All of the data, including diet information, is self-reported. Thus, we have no idea precisely what vegetarians or the various meat-consuming groups were actually eating. The data is also cross-sectional. "Therefore, no statements can be made whether the poorer health in vegetarians in our study is caused by their dietary habit or if they consume this form of diet due to their poorer health status," the authors admit. Moreover, the study was based in Austria, and the Austrian diet and lifestyle significantly differs from the American diet and lifestyle.

Even if the study wasn't severely limited, it wouldn't be enough to overturn prior evidence. In a 2009 review, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association), the largest organization of food and nutrition professionals in the U.S., declared that "appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases." More recently, a 2012 review published in the journal Public Health Nutrition, found that vegetarian diets have not shown any adverse effects on health. "

I have a hard time drawing the conclusion that eating a vegetarian diet directly decreases quality of life.

    Participants who ate less meat also had poorer health practices, such as avoiding
    attending doctors appointments for preventative check-ups and measures such as
    vaccines, the authors found.

Perhaps this means that vegetarians, on average, overestimate the benefits of vegetarianism, and thus decrease their health by taking fewer vaccines.

The conclusion section goes onto to link this to lower-quality of life as well. Still a bit skeptical of the findings... I always see articles regarding this with very differing opinions. Relevant article: http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info:d...

First thing that popped into my mind after diving into the details of the study: correlation does not equal causation. Excuse me while I wheel my fridge to the curb because everyone I've ever known who's had cancer or a heart-attack also has a fridge.

Major point: "{vegetarians} appeared to carry elevated risks of cancer, allergies and mental health problems such as depression and anxiety". Maybe its not causal - those things could drive a person to try a different diet.

How representative are the Austrians vegetarians of vegetarians in general?

This result seems pretty specific to a region (which is essentially what the study says at the end).

Did it factor in the effects on the body of ingesting all the added steroids, antibiotics, and hormones?

Another example of poor reporting of a poorly designed study. People will read this and come away thinking a vegetarian diet was shown to be less healthy. Yet the exact same study and data could have been written up as "People with health issues more likely to choose a vegetarian diet" which would invert the implied causal relationship.