Title:

Plant-based food consumption and bone integrity in college-aged students

Objectives: Research suggests that individuals who follow plant-based diets may be vulnerable to low bone integrity (BI) due to under consumption of important nutrients necessary for building bone. The purpose of this study is to investigate consumption of plant-based foods and how BI is affected among undergraduate students, 18-24 years. Methods: Students (n=7,474) were recruited between 2007- 2018 for the College Health and Nutrition Assessment Survey, an on-going, cross-sectional project examining diet and lifestyle factors of young adults at a public New England college. Plant-based food intake was measured by 3-day food recall; students were categorized as high plant-food eaters (HPFE) or low plant-food eaters (LPFE) according to their fiber and cholesterol intakes. HPFE were defined as those that consumed ≤ 300 mg/day of dietary cholesterol and ≥ 38 g/day (men) or 26 g/day (women) of fiber. BI was measured by ultrasound of the left and right calcaneus and z-scores were averaged. Differences between HPFE and LPFE groups were evaluated by chi-square analysis and ANCOVA, controlling for family history of osteoporosis, smoking, exercise, alcohol intake, body mass index, gender, and total calories. Results: Twelve percent (11.7%, n=878) of students were categorized as HPFE; 88.3% (n= 6,596) were categorized as LPFE. Overall, 5.6% (n= 423) were at risk for osteoporosis; no difference between groups and risk for osteoporosis were observed. No significant differences in mean Z-scores were seen between LPFE and HPFE groups (-0.48±0.04 vs. -0.52±0.11, p= 0.76). Conclusions: Findings suggest a high-plant food intake may not be detrimental to BI in young adults. Longitudinal research is needed to further examine the impact of plant-based dietary patterns on BI. Funding Sources: New Hampshire Agriculture Experiment Station and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Project 1010738.

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