A Scoping Review of Health Benefits Adopting a Plant-Based Diet

Goh, Siaw Shuen (2021) A Scoping Review of Health Benefits Adopting a Plant-Based Diet. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

Background: People nowadays concerns over the health and environmental consequences of a diet rich in meat and other animal products have focussed attention on those who exclude some or all of these foods from their diet. A healthy plant-based diet aims to maximize consumption of nutrient-dense plant-based foods at the same time minimize those processed foods, oils, and animal foods. ‘Plant-based’ mentioned includes ‘vegetarian’ or ‘vegan’ diet with minimum animal foods or products. The objectives of this review are to map the existing literature (2010–2020) on health benefits adopting plant-based diets and to document the existing studies on the effects of plant-based diets on anthropometric measurements, blood lipid profile, blood pressure and glycemic control as compared to conventional or omnivorous diets. Methods: Five-stage scoping review framework were followed: (1) identifying the research question, (2) identifying relevant studies, (3) selecting the studies, (4) charting the data, and (5) collating and summarize the data. Searches were conducted in PubMed database to identify relevant studies. Results: Of the 190 titles and abstracts screened, 17 articles were included. Most studies are intervention study but there are few cross-sectional research study designs. These studies show a consistent focus on the comparison of body weight, visceral fat, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, insulin resistance, and HbA1c between plant-based diet group and conventional or omnivorous diets group. The participants of the studies are mostly 30-75 years, majority of them are type 2 diabetes patients, or healthy individuals or individuals with overweight. Conclusion: Plant-based diet was shown to have some improvements in the measure of body weight, visceral fat, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, insulin resistance, and HbA1c in most of the studies as compared to conventional or omnivorous diets.