Research

Energy balance

A 3-month low-calorie lacto-ovo vegetarian diet and a low-calorie Mediterranean diet produce equivalent reductions in body weight, BMI, and fat mass in overweight omnivores.

If you are overweight and want to lose weight, both a low-calorie vegetarian diet (including eggs and dairy) and a low-calorie Mediterranean diet will work equally well over 3 months. The key is the caloric deficit, not the specific exclusion of animal products, provided you follow a structured plan.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Both Vd and MD were effective in reducing body weight, body mass index, and fat mass, with no significant differences between them.
Francesco Sofi et al. · Circulation · 2018

Why this rating

Randomized crossover trial with good compliance (84.7%) and statistical power, though short duration (3 months).

Source

Low-Calorie Vegetarian Versus Mediterranean Diets for Reducing Body Weight and Improving Cardiovascular Risk Profile

Francesco Sofi et al. · Circulation · 2018

DOI 10.1161/circulationaha.117.030088

crossover · n=118Cited 247×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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