The Various Effects of a Vegetarian Diet

Article One
Summary
The first article asks two questions “Are vegetarian students more at risk for developing an eating disorder” and “What are first-year college students’ self-identified reasons for adopting a vegetarian lifestyle?” To find the answer to this question Trautmann (2008) set up a correlational study. The subjects included 330 vegetarians versus non-vegetarian first year college students. The subjects made up a convenience sample. The design was correlational and included findings of qualitative data. The independent variables in this study were the vegetarian and non-vegetarian students. The dependent variables were the mean DEBQ and EAT-26 scores. According to the mean DEBQ score there was an increase in the amount of dieting among vegetarians. These findings lead Trautmann (2008) to confirm “that a vegetarian lifestyle among first-year college students may be related to disordered eating behaviors” (p. 3).
Assess
This research article had some limitations. To start, the study was a convenience sample of first year students from one university. The subjects were also pulled from a very general class which may not truly represent the whole student body at this particular university. The study would have been better if it were executed in a randomized way. This study also uses a broad definition of vegetarianism and some subjects even considered themselves to be semi-vegetarians. Though this article does have some limitations it covers a completely different topic than those of the other articles used for this research project. It is useful and has good results based on the tests that were used in the study. The scales which were used to measure dietary restraint have high internal validity and have been proven valid.
Reflect
This study addresses topics that do in fact relate to our area of research on vegetarianism among college students. It presents different supporting information that can be used in our research project. Even if we do not use the exact findings of this study, there is a lot of evidence that we can either use as background or supporting details for our own research project. For example, we could talk about how many students adopt the vegetarian lifestyle when they get to college in order to lose weight. Then we could talk about what options there are for these students and if they are actually making the right choices.
Article Two
Summary
Clarys’ (2000) study was conducted to answer the question, what is the difference between the average nutrition intake and physical performance of a group of vegetarian students compared to that of non-vegetarian students? The study also wanted to compare various blood parameters and each group’s physical performance levels in the hopes of taking this information and determining the completeness of the individual diets. The group was a convenience sample of 24 vegetarian students (14 males, 10 females). Each vegetarian student was asked to recruit a non-vegetarian student for the study in order to build a control group. This was a quasi-experimental study and included qualitative findings. The independent variables were the student’s nutrition habits and physical fitness abilities. The dependent variables were the results of the student’s blood tests and physical performance tests. After completing the study Clarys (2000) concluded that the vegetarian diet includes sufficient amounts of the required nutrients. According to Clarys (2000) the vegetarian diet is actually closer to an all-around healthy diet; however vegetarian and non-vegetarian subjects actually had very similar physical performances in the tests conducted for the study. After testing blood concentrations of the subjects Clarys (2000) found that nutrient intake is not necessarily always directly related to nutrient absorption.
Assess
The sample of this study was very small so it only showed results for a select group of people. One major limitation of this study was the fact that the vegetarian subjects chose the matched non-vegetarian subjects to form the control group. There is a bias here because people are usually similar to the others they associate themselves with and often share the same exercise habits. Therefore, it is no surprise that the physical performance scores of the groups were very similar. Although the two group’s results were very much alike there were multiple aspects to the physical fitness portion which made the test possible for more subjects. The study also used many scientific tests to find their results. This article will not be as helpful compared to the others. There seem to be too many parts of the study and article that seem skeptical.
Reflect
The information presented in this article would tie in nicely to our research project. I can see how we could link the college vegetarian diet with physical fitness levels among students. While I do find this article to be relevant to our topic, I think the study has too many gray areas. There are too many limitations to the study which does not make me feel confident in its results. The results of the study are not convincing enough to make me want to use its information for our research article.
Article Three
Summary
Salonen (2012) conducted a study to ask the question, how do Finnish university students assess their ability to adopt vegetarianism and their dietary behavior? The study was a convenience sample of 210 Finnish university students ranging from 18-40 years old. The students were asked to fill out an assessment including 36 sustainability items which would result in the study’s quantitative findings. The independent variables in this study are the assessment’s questions and topics that each subject had to give their opinion on. The dependent variables are the results of the assessment. After completing the study Salonen found that out of the 36 items relating to sustainability in the evaluation, the vegetarian diet was the least important to the subjects. However, the assessments also proved that the students favored vegetarian diets relatively often and that more and more students are finding ways to convert to the more sustainable way of eating (Salonen, 2012, p.5).
Assess
For this study another convenience sample was taken. After the results were analyzed from the questionnaire it seemed as though some of the subjects were uneducated in their own nutritional habits. For this specific study the researcher would want somewhat educated people to fill out the assessment. That is why a convenience sample is not the best type of design to use in this case. There were some strong points to this research article. Though it was a convenience sample it has the most subjects out of the three articles being critiqued. Although some of the subjects did not seem to entirely know what the assessment was asking them, there were many areas that were covered which increased to likelihood of every subject knowing how to answer more questions confidently. Another strong point is the fact that many calculations were done before the end results were finalized.
Reflect
I think my group could use this article for the research project. Although it does have some limitations there are still useful parts of the study. This research proves that the vegetarian lifestyle is indeed becoming more and more popular among students. It shows that it is becoming somewhat of a trend but that there are still many people who do not know a lot about the entire vegetarian purpose and lifestyle. I can see some of this information serving as good background information for our research project. This information could also tie into Trautmann’s (2008) study and how some students may not know how to form a healthy vegetarian diet which could possibly lead to disordered eating habits.

References
Clarys, P, (2000). Physical Fitness and Health-Related Parameters in Vegetarian and Omnivorous Students. Nutrition and Food Science. 30 (5), p.243-249
Salonen, Arto O., (2012). Vegetarian Diets: A Way towards a Sustainable Society. Journal of Sustainable Development. 5 (6), p.10-24
Trautmann, Julianne, (2008). Vegetarian Students in Their First Year of College: Are They at Risk for Restrictive or Disordered Eating Behaviors? College Student Journal. 42 (2), p.340-347