Articles, medical journals and online resources are all showing an effective way to lose weight is via a vegetarian diet. Moreover, based on the findings of a survey conducted by the American Institute for Cancer Research, vegetarians are more prone to weigh less than carnivores (meat-eaters).

In an effort to test the bounds of a vegetarian diet, a clinical trial studied the participants eating behavior prior to and subsequent to following a vegetarian diet. Over the course of a six month vegetable diet, the subjects reduced their caloric consumption by merely 200 calories per day. Although, the weight loss was not drastic, the individuals developed leaner mass. Losses were identified in both the hip and waist measurements of the dieters.

Alternatively, a study conducted in Britain showed divergent results, there was not a significant difference amongst the carnivores versus the vegetarians. The evaluation involved over 65,000 participants who were divided into four groups: fish-eaters, vegans (no animal products including eggs, milk), meat-eaters, lacto-ovo vegetarians.

Weight loss factoid: Body mass index (BMI) is a way of measuring body fatness.

Among the findings of the British study, higher body mass indices (BMI); consequently, they were more prone to weighing more then the average size. Additionally, the lacto-ovovegetarians as well as the fish-eaters had body types like mesomorphs or medium body masses. The vegans represented the lowest to diminutive body mass indices.

Moreover, the meat-eaters accounted for 9 percent and 7, percent of women and men, respectively. Only three to four percent of the men and women were obese from the lacto-ovo and fish-eater groups. Out of the vegan group, only two percent of the men and women were considered obese.