Study recruitment: Researchers to explore impact of a meat-free diet on long-term health

Researchers hope study can provide evidence to inform public health and dietary recommendations and reduce risk of health complications.

A new study is looking for volunteers to find out more about the potential benefits of adopting a meat-free diet.

Researchers at the University of Leicester are looking for 450 people willing to give up eating meat as part of a study on how vegetarian and vegan diets can affect long term health.

Researchers based at the Leicester Diabetes Centre would like to hear from people who are living with overweight or obesity, aged between 18 and 50, who currently eat meat at least five days a week to take part.

Tom Yates, Professor of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Health at the University of Leicester, said: “This study would suit anyone who has been wondering whether ditching meat could be beneficial to their health and is happy to commit to changing their diet for 12 months. Not only will participants receive supermarket vouchers over the course of the study to help support food costs; they will also receive regular guidance from trained dietitians, cooking classes and in-depth health checks at study visits.”

The Plant Your Health study, led by the University of Leicester’s Professors Tom Yates and Kamlesh Khunti, will evaluate the health effects of adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet among overweight and obese younger adults.

The study is supported by a £1.95 million funding grant from the Chellaram Foundation.
Over 12 months, health reports of the 450 participants will be recorded as they follow either a vegetarian diet (excluding meat and fish, but including dairy and eggs), a strict vegan diet, or continue with their usual diet.  

Measures of their health including LDL-cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein), blood pressure, blood glucose, body composition, in addition to psychological wellbeing, and their dietary carbon footprints will be taken.

Kamlesh Khunti, Professor of Primary Care Diabetes and Vascular Medicine at the University of Leicester, said: “We are all incredibly excited to be embarking on this landmark study, investigating a large number of important health measures and whether they are affected by vegan or vegetarian diets.

“We are thankful to the Chellaram Foundation for their contribution to this work, and look forward to welcoming people onto the study.

“Recruitment will allow for both self-referral and invitation from primary care. Through a further strand of this work, we aim to produce globally relevant evidence that informs public health policy, dietary guidelines, and supports healthier, more sustainable nutrition at the population level.”

Professor Louise Goff, lead dietitian, said: “Although we know plant-based nutrition provides health benefits over the short term, there are a lack of well conducted research studies over the longer-term in sufficient numbers. This study is the largest trial on plant-based nutrition to date and will provide the gold standard evidence needed to inform public health”
The Chellaram Foundation said: "We at the Chellaram Foundation are very happy to be a partner for this upcoming randomised controlled trial on vegetarianism and cardiovascular health in obese and overweight people.

“This study will use a rigorous clinical design to provide clear evidence on a vegetarian diet from a healthcare perspective. This research represents an essential step in understanding how compassionate food choices can create a more sustainable world.”

To express your interest in the study emailing here 

For more information click here 

NOTE: DRWF will from time-to-time advise readers of ‘calls to participate’ in diabetes and related health research studies. It should not necessarily be considered that the charity is in any way connected to the study or the group issuing the call for participants. If we are involved in any way, we will make this known. We will only share external calls where we have confirmed that the study holds ethics committee approval, and the study is specific to diabetes and related health. Taking part in a medical research study is a big step and further helpful information can be found via the National Institute for Health and Care Research Clinical Trials Guide.