Can Dietary Supplements Be Linked to a Vegan Diet and Health Risk Modulation During Vegan Pregnancy, Infancy, and Early Childhood?

Autor(en)

Wolfgang Huber-Schneider, Karl-Heinz Wagner, Ingrid Kiefer

Abstrakt

As veganism becomes more popular, the number of vegan pregnant women and children is steadily increasing. During vegan pregnancy and early childhood, there is a high risk for nutrient deficiencies that may impair child development. External factors, such as healthcare advice, social networks, and social environments, that affect the diet of vegan pregnant women, parents, and their children, as well as their approach towards dietary supplementation, have not yet been investigated. Various sources of information, combined with a lack of expertise, sparse food and nutritional health literacy, and qualitatively heterogeneous information provision by medical experts, unsettle vegan pregnant women and parents and affect their dietary choices and potentially the health of their children. The VedieS study aims to investigate potential connections between external influences and associated impacts on a vegan diet and the intake of dietary supplements (DS) of pregnant women and children. Two surveys are being conducted within the study: one targeting 1000 vegan pregnant women and parents, and another targeting 60 experts in each of five healthcare groups: gynecologists, pediatricians, general practitioners, pharmacists, and dietitians. This study is the first to examine how socio-economic, social, and further informational factors influence dietary practices during vegan pregnancy and childhood. It highlights the need for reliable, expert-led guidance, as current information sources are often inconsistent and may put these vulnerable groups at risk.

Organisation(en)

Department für Ernährungswissenschaften, Institut für Pflegewissenschaft

Externe Organisation(en)

AGES - Österreichische Agentur für Gesundheit und Ernährungssicherheit

Journal

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Band

22

ISSN

1661-7827

DOI

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22081210

Publikationsdatum

08-2025

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

303009 Ernährungswissenschaften

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Pollution, Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health, Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 3 – Gesundheit und Wohlergehen

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/bd3cf216-d098-4e9d-8b00-11baf7f3f72a