PEDIATRIC NUTRITION 0031-3955/95 $0.00 + .20 VEGETARIAN DIETS AND CHILDREN T. A. B. Sanders, PhD A vegetarian diet, if properly selected, can meet all of the require- ments of the growing child; yet many health professionals remain con- cerned about the adequacy of vegetarian diets. This article reviews the nutritional adequacy of vegan and vegetarian diets, identifies under what conditions nutritional deficiencies can arise, and compares the growth and development of children reared on vegetarian diets with those in the general population. It also considers some new develop- ments in essential fatty acid nutrition. A vegetarian is usually defined as someone who does not eat animal flesh (i.e., meat, poultry, and fish) but who includes eggs and dairy products in his or her diet. Usually the first stage in becoming a vegetar- ian is to cease consumption of red meat, which is followed by the exclusion of poultry and fish. Many vegetarians aspire to being pure vegetarians, or vegans, who exclude all food of animal origin. Veganism is a way of life that avoids the exploitation of animals. Besides avoiding food of animal origin, vegans also do not use products that have been derived from animals, such as leather and wool. Fruitarians restrict their diet to raw fruits, nuts, and berries because they believe that these were the natural diet of man. Macrobiotic diets, which originate from the teachings of George Ohsawa,31 consist of relatively large amounts of brown rice, accompanied by smaller amounts of fruits, vegetables, and legumes; processed foods and Solanaceae species (i.e., tomatoes, egg- plants, and potatoes) are avoided. Meat and fish are permitted if they are hunted or wild. In practice, however, most macrobiotic diets are vegetarian and contain only small amounts of milk products, if any. From the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, King's College London, London, United Kingdom PEDIATRIC CLINICS OF NORTH AMERICA VOLUME 42 • NUMBER 4 • AUGUST 1995 955