Going vegan can burn more fat than Ozempic, study suggests – diet helps you lose a stone in four months

Going vegan could help people lose more weight than Ozempic, scientists have found.

Researchers discovered that people who ditched foods like meat and fish for a low-fat plant-based diet shifted 5.9kg – or 13lb – of their body weight after just 16 weeks. 

That’s more than some trials have shown patients can lose on semaglutide, the active ingredient in the blockbuster jabs Ozempic and Wegovy.

A 2017 study, published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal, found patients taking the 0.5mg semaglutide injection lost around 3.7kg – around 8lb – after 30 weeks, while those on the 1mg jab lost 4.5kg – almost 10lb – over the same period.

This was followed by a separate 2021 study in the same journal that found people taking the 2mg jab – the highest dose – lost around 6.9kg, which is just over a stone. 

However, that was only after 40 weeks.

The vegan diet study – originally conducted in 2020 – followed 224 overweight adults, most of whom were women, with an average age of 54.

They were split into two groups, where half the patients adopted the plant-based diets while others maintained their original eating habits..

Those following the vegan diet could eat as much fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes as they liked, but were told to avoid meat, fish, dairy products and eggs 

After 16 weeks their average meat and dairy intake dramatically dropped from more than 100g per day to around just 1g per day, while egg consumption was eliminated almost entirely.

Their vegetable intake, however, rose by around 150g, and their fruit intake increased by around 80g.

The consumption of legumes, such as beans, almost tripled, while their intake of plant-based meat alternatives more than doubled.

After finding that the routine brought weight loss of almost a stone, the researchers wrote: ‘This intervention may be an effective treatment for overweight adults.’ 

Now, many of the team behind the original research wanted to investigate why their research delivered those results.

In a new study – dubbed a ‘secondary analysis’ – they found that the reason lies in the number of calories in the foods.

Patients, they discovered, had been eating roughly the same weight of food as they had before, when their diets included meats.

However, they were consuming close to 500 fewer calories than those continuing to eat meats, dairy, fish and eggs.

In real terms, they had gone from eating 1,834 calories per day to 1,343 calories per day – a decrease of more than a quarter.

The researchers wrote that provides an ‘explanation for the weight loss observed with vegan diets’ in their original report.

The team added: ‘Plant-based foods are high in water and fiber and low in fat, increasing food volume without a proportional increase in energy content. 

‘This promotes satiety (feeling of fullness) and reduces energy intake without deliberate caloric restriction.’

As well as losing weight, the original study found that those on the vegan diet became better at controlling blood sugar, had less fat in the liver and muscles, and burned more calories digesting food. 

In the new paper, researchers wrote: ‘These findings suggest that dietary composition – specifically, an emphasis on plant foods – can meaningfully influence energy intake regulation. 

‘This mechanism helps explain the significant weight loss and metabolic improvements observed in response to a low-fat vegan diet…’

The scientists did acknowledge the study’s limitations, including that the study relied on patients self-reporting the foods that they were consuming.

They also said the participants volunteered for the study and may not represent the wider population. 

Around 3.5 million people in the UK are believed to follow a plant-based diet today.

Experts have said that the eating plan has a number of health benefits, and separate studies have shown that vegans are less likely to suffer from heart disease, diabetes and cancer than meat eaters.

However, some say that veganism can also trigger a number of harmful vitamin deficiencies.

Chief amongst these is a lack of vitamin B12 – a nutrient crucial to healthy bodily function which is not found in plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables and grains.

Instead, vitamin B12 is primarily found in meat, fish, milk and eggs – all products that vegans do not eat.

Research shows vitamin B12 is essential for the proper function of blood vessels and brain tissue.

For this reason, the NHS advises that vegans take a daily vitamin B12 supplement.

‘This is a vitamin that is fundamental to the function of the human body, and it is almost entirely absent from a vegan diet,’ Dr Julian Owen, consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, previously told The Daily Mail.

‘If supplements are not taken, after six months of going vegan, people can start to experience neurological symptoms such as anxiety, depression and even psychosis – symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency.’