What effect does vegetarianism have on the growth of children?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/23356638/ How prevalent is vitamin B(12) deficiency among vegetarians?AuthorsPawlak R1, Parrott SJ, Raj S, Cullum-Dugan D, Lucus D.Author informationJournalNutr Rev. 2013 Feb;71(2):110-7. doi: 10.1111/nure.12001. Epub 2013 Jan 2.AffiliationAbstractVegetarians are at risk for vitamin B(12) (B12) deficiency due to suboptimal intake. The goal of the present literature review was to assess the rate of B12 depletion and deficiency among vegetarians and vegans. Using a PubMed search to identify relevant publications, 18 articles were found that reported B12 deficiency rates from studies that identified deficiency by measuring methylmalonic acid, holo-transcobalamin II, or both. The deficiency rates reported for specific populations were as follows: 62% among pregnant women, between 25% and almost 86% among children, 21-41% among adolescents, and 11-90% among the elderly. Higher rates of deficiency were reported among vegans compared with vegetarians and among individuals who had adhered to a vegetarian diet since birth compared with those who had adopted such a diet later in life. The main finding of this review is that vegetarians develop B12 depletion or deficiency regardless of demographic characteristics, place of residency, age, or type of vegetarian diet. Vegetarians should thus take preventive measures to ensure adequate intake of this vitamin, including regular consumption of supplements containing B12.Vegans http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/04/17/is-veganism-good-for-everyone/a-choice-with-definite-risks Mr. Kresser argues that this is one reason studies consistently show that up to 50 percent of long-term vegetarians and 80 perent of vegans are deficient in B12. “The effects of B12 deficiency on kids are especially alarming,” he writes. “Studies have shown that kids raised until age 6 on a vegan diet are still B12 deficient even years after they start eating at least some animal products.” In one study, the researchers found “a significant association” between low B12 levels and “fluid intelligence, spatial ability and short-term memory.” The formerly vegan kids scored lower than omnivorous kids every time.Vegans and vegetarians also are more likely to suffer from iodine deficiencies resulting in lower vital thyroid functionality:http://bastyrcenter.org/content/view/795/  The average 24-hour urinary iodine concentration in omnivores, lacto-ovovegetarians, and vegans was 216 mcg per liter, 172 mcg per liter, and 78 mcg per liter, respectively. More than 25% of the lacto-ovovegetarians and 80% of the vegans were iodine deficient compared with only 9% of omnivores. Severe iodine deficiency was found in 27% of the vegans, 10% of the lacto-ovovegetarians, and none of the omnivores. Evaluation of the lacto-ovovegetarian and vegan diets showed that they both were lacking in iodine-rich foods, but lacto-ovovegetarians had a higher intake of iodine due to intake of dairy products and eggs.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2528709/#!po=32.5758 The growth of a child is a sensitive indicator of the potential negative effects of vegetarian, vegan and macrobiotic diets. Children younger than two years of age who were fed vegetarian or vegan diets exhibited significant lower mean weight and length velocities (12) and were overall lighter in weight and smaller in stature than reference populations (13). The Farm Study (14) analyzed 404 children from a vegetarian community in which parents were well educated about the diet and children were supplemented with the appropriate minerals and vitamins. While these vegetarian children were within the 25th and 75th percentiles for United States growth standards, height for age and weight for age were below the median when compared with reference populations for most ages. Values were statistically significant for children younger than five years of age. Thus, with the appropriate supplementation and parent education, children on vegetarian or vegan diets can attain adequate growth, but it may be somewhat less than reference populations.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3137939/ Most of the initial data regarding vitamin B12 deficiency in infancy are from case studies of infants exclusively breastfed by mothers on vegan, vegetarian, or lacto-ovo vegetarian diets. Several authors have described developmental retardation and “infant tremor syndrome” in 4- to 11-month-old infants of vegetarian mothers from India [7, 8]. Four case studies from the United States described lethargy, irritability, and developmental delay among exclusively breastfed infants (ages 6 to 10 months) of vegan or vegetarian mothers [9–12]. Restoration of developmental skills after therapy was variable, with at least two cases reporting ongoing delays [9, 12], and one reporting developmental recovery [11]. Similar cases have been reported from Europe [13–17]. Again, the infants displayed delayed motor skills, along with lethargy, and were exclusively breastfed by mothers who were vegan or lacto-ovo vegetarian. After therapy, recovery was variable, with some children remaining moderately or severely retarded [13,17–19]. - See more at: http://ancestral-nutrition.com/veganism-extremely-dangerous-for-babies/#sthash.Ug2cWtn3.dpuf

It can range from almost no effect to very serious - even death from malnutrition. A growing child has very different needs than a fully grown parent, and you don´t need to have a Ph.d. to conclude that animal meat is likely to contain better building material for growing muscles. That being said, it is still fairly well established that you can grow up a perfectly healthy child on a well-planned vegetarian diet. That takes a lot of effort and thought. And keep in mind that organizing an adequate diet does not necessarily make it the optimal diet for growth.

If they start at a young age to be vegetarians then it's a very good thing. They learn to think and see the world more positively. Yes it's true. You learn to love nature and its beauty and appreciate all living creatures. So yes it feels like entire world is one big family. Now if you start with a meat based diet the child will ask you about it at a young age as they will see at somepoint that the animal was killed to get that food. Now the answer you give starts to kill that nice image of the world and accepting that something that is clearly not normal becomes acceptable. The image of beautiful world with happy living beings tarnishes. Then once they accept this then soon they will accept that it's ok to accept all the damage we cause to the environment also. So doing wrong things slowly enter the mind and become acceptable until a larger problems comes then we start to look at the root causes and then make changes when it might be too late. I highly encourage any reader to watch cowspiricy. Great documentary. We need to learn to work with nature and save the planet and not destroy it. No we are not meant to be on this planet to sin and destroy but to protect and preserve.Anyways, I know many who are vegetarians and have been since they were kids. The key is not just vegetarian diet but how you cook the vegetarian meals. So if you fry everything in oil and aim for high quality taste over health then it eventually comes back to bite you. People especially we Indians aim for taste but lacks the knowledge of what your body really needs. We should be eating way more vegetarian proteins in our diet. It costs us health in the end. So it is good to aim at adding proper amount of protein and keeping low carb diet. So no sugar items. Lot of people feel salt is bad for you but for me salt has never been an issue because I make sure I drink enough water daily. At least 2 or 3 litres. So at young age it's important to add protein in daily diet would go a long way. This doesn't mean we need to go to meat for protein. The reason is simple, meat will cause colon cancer and heart disease and cholestrol so it's important to keep away from such hints. Eating fried food is very bad so at times you can really make great foods with boiling certain things. So that's very important. Here are some things that I have been feeding my kids for protein. Lentils, moong, chickpeas and other dals. Just boiling these with salt is good. No need to add any oil. You can also go with milk and yogurt as well for protein. The other option is to add more nuts for protein. Quinoa is also a good source but not large portions. So there are lots of good options for protein. Keeping your carb low in your diet is the key so anything with sugar or white flour is no good. You can also cook other things like sweet potato and yam. All you need to do is heat them so there are many options. You can also buy low calorie packaged items like rice cakes or vegetables like zucchini, carrots, egg plant and tomatoes etc...

Milk or yogurtMilk is obviously essential that the baby consumes a large dose. Until adolescence, milk remains essential to the growth of the child.Dairy products provide: Iron; Calcium; Proteins; Good to know: the milk is also a debate. Is it really a product which should be consumed after weaning your infant?Meat and fishFrom a certain age, the child can eat a little meat in reasonable quantities..To ensure effective action of proteins in the body, it is important to focus on quality over quantity. The proteins act on: The cells making up the skin and muscles; Immune system; Hormones Fruit or juiceEven if it is accompanied by milk or juice, healthy and frequent hydration is essential from an early age. The child spends every day playing and should drink plenty of water.At the age of 10 years, the average weight of a child is 30 kg. He needs to drink 1 L of water per day besides the water contained in the rest of the diet.Fun ways to make a child drink happily: Choose a colored glass; Add a straw; Opt for "sport caps" to drink from the bottle; Lead by example Foods to avoidThe child should not choose his meals. It is also not advisable to leave the snack during the day. However, it is not always easy to prevent excesses. To prevent weight gain, you should promote regular physical activity and limit sugars.Foods to avoid: The low-sugar products are false friends; Soda, chocolate drinks, flavored beverages; Sweets "seen on TV" that contain too much fat. http://www.lausks.com