Women who eat meat are more likely to reach the age of 100, a Chinese study involving more than 5,000 people aged 80 and over has shown. The results were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, with the data drawn from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHSS).
Researchers from Fudan University, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University compared the data of 1,459 centenarians with that of 3,744 people in their eighties and nineties. They found that women who ate meat were more likely to reach the age of 100 compared to vegetarians. No significant link between vegetarianism and longevity was found in men.
The association existed only among vegetarians with low body weight. Daily meat consumption was associated with a 44 per cent higher likelihood of reaching the age of 100 in the underweight group, whereas this association did not appear in groups with normal or overweight status. The team also found that body mass index (BMI) partially explains the link between vegetarianism and shorter life expectancy.
Vegetarians who consumed fish, dairy products, or eggs had similar longevity prospects as those who eat meat. Vegetarian and low-meat diets are generally associated with a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes, while processed and red meat are more often linked to poorer health.
The authors note that the study can only reveal an association, not a causal relationship. The research did not track changes in dietary habits over time, but only assessed diet in later life. Some estimates suggest that reaching the age of 90 can be attributed to healthy habits in 70 per cent of cases.
Scientists estimate that by 2050, nearly half a billion people could be aged 80 and over. In the context of debates on diet and ageing, one study involving more than 65,000 people showed that vegetarians may have a higher risk of fractures, and a review of research from 2026 by the University of Wisconsin-Madison presented the argument that lower protein intake may promote healthier ageing.
