The Claim

Current dietary recommendations for children in Western countries that emphasize plant-based foods and restrict animal proteins may be associated with suboptimal physical and cognitive development due to the consistent association between high-quality animal protein intake and greater height and cognitive outcomes in ecological analyses.

Source: Back to the pre-industrial age? FAOSTAT statistics of food supply reveal radical dietary changes accompanied by declining body height, rising obesity rates, and declining phenotypic IQ in affluent Western countries

What the research says

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Supports
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Challenges
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These are independent scores, not a percentage. Higher-grade studies count more, so a single strong opposing study can outweigh several weaker ones.

Correlation
1 study reviewed
In plain English

Dietary guidelines for children in Western countries that limit animal proteins and favor plant-based foods may be linked to slower growth and lower cognitive performance, based on population-level data showing that higher intake of animal proteins correlates with better height and cognitive outcomes.

See the scientific wording

Current dietary recommendations for children in Western countries, which emphasize plant-based foods and restrict animal proteins, may be nutritionally inadequate for optimal physical and cognitive development, given that high-quality animal proteins are consistently associated with greater height and cognitive outcomes in ecological analyses.

What the research says

1 study
  1. Study: Back to the pre-industrial age? FAOSTAT statistics of food supply reveal radical dietary changes accompanied by declining body height, rising obesity rates, and declining phenotypic IQ in affluent Western countries

    This study shows that when kids eat less meat and eggs and more sugary carbs, they tend to grow shorter and score lower on IQ tests over time—suggesting current diets might not be helping them grow and think their best.

Score breakdown, mechanism chain, raw evidence, ideal studies needed & 1 supporting studies

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