As more families choose vegetarian or vegan diets, many parents wonder whether young children can get everything they need to grow and develop normally, especially during the first two years of life, when growth is rapid and nutrient needs are high.
A large new study suggests those concerns may be largely unfounded.
Researchers analyzed health records from nearly 1.2 million infants in Israel and found that children raised in vegetarian or vegan households followed growth patterns very similar to those of children from omnivorous families by age 2.
The study, published in JAMA Network Open, examined routine measurements of weight, length and head circumference collected between 2014 and 2023 through Israel’s national child health monitoring system. This database captures growth data for roughly 70% of children in the country, offering an unusually detailed look at early development across different family eating patterns.
Overall, infants from vegetarian and vegan households showed slightly higher rates of being underweight during the first two months of life. But those differences steadily narrowed and were no longer statistically meaningful by 24 months. By age 2, average growth measurements were closely aligned across all diet groups.
Rates of stunting, a marker of chronic undernutrition, were low overall and did not differ significantly between children from omnivorous, vegetarian or vegan families.
The findings suggest that in high-income settings with access to health care and nutrition guidance, plant-based diets can support normal physical development during infancy. The researchers emphasize, however, that diet quality matters. Well-planned meals and appropriate nutritional counseling during pregnancy and early childhood were common features among families whose children grew normally.
The study does not claim that all plant-based diets are automatically adequate, nor does it suggest that early feeding choices are irrelevant. Instead, it adds reassurance that vegetarian and vegan diets, when thoughtfully designed, do not appear to compromise basic growth during the first two years of life.
Because the research relied on observational data, it cannot prove cause and effect. Still, the size of the dataset and the consistency of the findings provide strong evidence that early growth concerns often resolve over time in plant-based households.
This research was conducted using national health records and did not report specific external grant support.