For many parents, decisions about diet begin long before a child takes their first steps. As plant based eating becomes more common, questions about infant growth and development have moved from niche debates into everyday family conversations.
A large new study following more than one million children suggests that babies raised in vegan and vegetarian households generally grow in line with those from omnivorous families. The findings are likely to reassure parents who worry that avoiding animal products might place infants at a physical disadvantage. The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.
Researchers analysed routine health records from a national network of family care centres, tracking children from birth to two years of age. The study compared growth patterns in infants from vegan, vegetarian, and omnivorous households, focusing on length, weight, and head circumference across early childhood.
The overwhelming majority of infants came from omnivorous families, with smaller numbers from vegetarian and vegan households. Despite these differences in representation, the size of the dataset allowed researchers to examine even relatively rare outcomes such as underweight and stunted growth.
At birth and during the first weeks of life, infants from vegan households were slightly lighter and shorter on average than those from omnivorous families. These differences were small and fell well within ranges considered clinically minor. Measures of head growth were also closely aligned across all dietary groups.
During early infancy, babies in vegan households showed a higher likelihood of being classified as underweight. However, this pattern was uncommon overall and became less pronounced as children grew older. By the age of two, rates of underweight, stunting, and overweight were low and broadly similar regardless of family diet.
Growth trajectories over time told a similar story. When length and weight were tracked month by month, children from vegan and vegetarian households followed almost identical paths to those from omnivorous families. Adjusting for factors such as birth weight and maternal characteristics further reduced any remaining differences.
The findings are important because early growth is closely linked to long term physical and cognitive health. Poor nutrition in the first thousand days of life has been associated with later risks including chronic disease and developmental difficulties. Parents often worry that restrictive diets could compromise this critical period.
The study also reflects wider trends in high income countries, where childhood overweight and obesity are more common public health concerns than undernutrition. Children from plant based households showed no increased risk of excessive weight gain, a result that may interest clinicians and policymakers focused on prevention.
Researchers caution that diet quality still matters. A well planned vegan diet during pregnancy and infancy typically requires careful attention to nutrients such as vitamin B12, iron, iodine, vitamin D, calcium, and omega three fats. The data did not include detailed information on food intake or supplement use, which limits conclusions about individual nutritional practices.
The results suggest that in developed settings, vegan and vegetarian family diets can support healthy infant growth when appropriately managed. Regular health monitoring and access to nutritional guidance remain important, particularly during pregnancy and the first two years of life.