Koeglmeier J.: Practical Tool in Vegan Diets
Today on the ESPGHAN podcast—hello, listeners! Y’all right?—we’ll address, with the help of Dr Jutta Koeglmeier, of London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, what some persons might call a first-world problem.
For millennia the principal issue with nutrition was: Will there be enough? In wealthy nations, at least, during the last century, there certainly was enough nutrition; the issues shifted in two directions, one being: Will it reach those who need it? and the other: Will some people overfeed themselves? Now a third issue is cropping up in those wealthy nations: Will some people adopt diets that slide into underfeeding?
One such diet is that imposed by veganism, which abjures (along with quite a bit else) the ingestion of food or drink not derived directly from vegetable sources. Might adherence to strict veganism lead to deficiencies in macronutrients or micronutrients? Clearly, yes. Beyond supplementation, since veganism and scepticism toward pills and Big Pharma often are parabiosed, how can such outcomes be avoided?
Dr Koeglmeier proposes three contributions in guiding today’s chat. These are "Developing a Food Exchange System for Meal Planning in Vegan Children and Adolescents", by Menal-Puey et al.; "Does the Healthy Plate Model Workshop Improve Nutrition Knowledge, Behaviors, and Habits in School-Age Children? The Impact of Workshop on Dietary Habits: Original Article", by Şahin and Özkaya; and "Vegan Diet and Nutritional Status in Infants, Children and Adolescents: A Position Paper Based on a Systematic Search by the ESPGHAN Nutrition Committee", by Verduci et al. (Complete PubMed details can be found in the podcast précis on the ESPGHAN website.)
Starting with the ESPGHAN stance toward veganism—summed up as "perhaps all very well for some, but keep an eye on how things are going for children on a vegan diet!"—what can professional nutrition counselling offer?
As always here, listen and find out...
Literature
Menal-Puey S et al. Developing a Food Exchange System for Meal Planning in Vegan Children and Adolescents.Nutrients. 2018 Dec 25;11(1):43. doi: 10.3390/nu11010043. PMID: 30585248. PMCID: PMC6356333.
Şahin HS, Özkaya V. Does the Healthy Plate Model Workshop Improve Nutrition Knowledge, Behaviors, and Habits in School-Age Children? The Impact of Workshop on Dietary Habits: Original Article. BMC Public Health. 2025 Jan 13;25(1):136. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-21375-6. PMID: 39806359. PMCID: PMC11727504.
Verduci E et al. Vegan Diet and Nutritional Status in Infants, Children and Adolescents: A Position Paper Based on a Systematic Search by the ESPGHAN Nutrition Committee. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2025 Nov;81(5):1318–1345. doi: 10.1002/jpn3.70182. Epub 2025 Aug 17. PMID: 40819279. PMCID: PMC12580465.
Dr. Koeglmeier´s favourite song: Here Comes the Sun – The Beatles
ESPGHAN favourite Songs can be found on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0YIHKjxITLEm9XNyHyypTo