Shafiqul Islam

Being a vegetarian may be influenced by your genetic makeup. Content Warning.

Going meatless may not solely depend on willpower, as indicated by a recent study. Published in PLOS One on Wednesday, the study discovered four genes that are associated with individuals' ability to sustain a vegetarian lifestyle effectively. Dr. Nabeel Yaseen, the lead author of the study and a professor emeritus of pathology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, stated that genetics plays a significant role in vegetarianism. Some individuals may possess genetic factors that make them more aptly suited for a vegetarian diet than others. While religious and cultural practices, health concerns, moral values, and environmental factors motivate people to reduce or eliminate meat consumption, adherence to these dietary choices is not always successful. According to Yaseen, many individuals aspiring to follow a vegetarian diet are unable to do so, and the study suggests that genetics might be a contributing factor. The study, however, did not identify which individuals are genetically predisposed to vegetarianism. Researchers anticipate future studies to explore this question further. Dr. José Ordovás, the director of nutrition and genomics and a professor of nutrition and genetics at Tufts University, noted that the study sheds light on the intricate connection between genetics and dietary choices. He suggests that in the future, personalized dietary recommendations based on genetic predispositions might be possible, potentially leading to improved health information. Understanding the genetic connection may enhance personalized health advice, according to Yaseen. The UK Biobank, a large biomedical database and research resource tracking individuals over the long term, provided the data for this study. The study compared over 5,000 strict vegetarians, defined as individuals who had not consumed any animal flesh in the past year, to a control group comprising more than 300,000 individuals who had consumed meat within the previous year. Researchers identified three genes that were strongly associated with vegetarianism and an additional 31 genes that were potentially linked to vegetarianism. Through genetic analysis, the researchers observed that vegetarians were more inclined to have different variations of these genes compared to non-vegetarians. This distinction might be attributed to diverse lipid processing in individuals. Several of the genes associated with vegetarianism were found to be involved in lipid metabolism, revealing a potential link between genetic differences in lipid metabolism and brain function. However, Yaseen emphasized that further research is required to investigate this hypothesis. It is important to acknowledge the limitations of the study. As pointed out by Ordovás, all participants in the analysis were White, which maintained sample homogeneity and avoided the influence of cultural practices on the results. However, this restricts the applicability of the findings to the broader population. Despite its limitations, the study contributes valuable insights into the genetics underlying dietary preferences. The identification of genetic variants associated with long-term strict vegetarianism suggests a biological basis, beyond cultural, ethical, or environmental motivations, for choosing such a diet.