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Research on Vegetarians, Vegans, and Non-vegetarians

3K views 26 replies 24 participants last post by  Kelii36 
#1 ·
Hello Everyone! I am working on my PhD in Counseling Psychology at Louisiana Tech University. The research I am currently doing is looking at eating attitudes and attitudes toward physical appearance in vegans, vegetarians, and non-vegetarians. Previous research done on this issue has mostly looked at female college students who identified as semi-vegetarian so there is not much research that has had a representative sample of vegetarians or vegans. I hope to add to the literature by getting accurate information from those who have a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.

I am looking for participants to take part in this study. There are no incentives except the pursuit of knowledge! If you would like to take part in this study the link below will send you directly to the survey which takes approx. 30 min to complete. No identifying information will be gathered from you. Before you begin the survey you will be required to read over an informed consent and verify that you agree or do not agree with the statements in the informed consent.

You must be 18 or older to take part in this study and if you do participate please only answer the survey once!

I have received permission from the administrator, Michael, to post this request.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post! Link to survey is below.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/K9GKD29

The purpose of this study is to examine the differences between groups on the issues of eating and appearance. It is not the purpose to make any sort of diagnosis. My contact information is on the informed consent page of the survey (which you can get even if you don't participate!) so if you have any concerns please contact me or if you would like a summary of the results once the study is complete you can email me!

Sincerely,

Deborah Simpson
 
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#7 ·
This was posted on the Introduce Yourself forum.
I also felt it presented a bias, as the questions seemed slanted towards body image, but as a vegan, being careful about food choices, having others try and get you to eat, giving much time and trouble about what you eat, aren't about physical appearence. There isn't any way to seperate whether the decision is based on caring about weight gain, or dietary choices. That would be significant in a poll about attitudes and appearance.
 
#8 ·
I think some of the questions "funneled" the participants in a certain direction, but other than that it was a pretty interesting survey.
 
#9 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by darkgarden View Post

i feel that some of these questions paint an inaccurate picture - display self control around food: well of course i do! i am vegan. if i didn't i would eat whatever and i wouldn't be vegan! feel that others pressure me to eat: yes! meat! dairy! BECAUSE I'M VEGAN
Yep, this is exactly what I thought as well.

Also, I'm influenced by media and am concerned about my body image, but it has nothing to do with being vegetarian. I actually weigh MORE since I became a vegetarian because there was a time period when I was an omnivore who was obsessed with going to the gym and had a personal trainer.
 
#10 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by silva View Post

This was posted on the Introduce Yourself forum.
I also felt it presented a bias, as the questions seemed slanted towards body image, but as a vegan, being careful about food choices, having others try and get you to eat, giving much time and trouble about what you eat, aren't about physical appearence. There isn't any way to seperate whether the decision is based on caring about weight gain, or dietary choices. That would be significant in a poll about attitudes and appearance.
This!!
 
#13 ·
Done.

What on earth did any of that have anything to do with veg*ns?


Yes, there are people with eating disorders who will also happen to be veg*n. Some use veg*nism as an excuse, some just happen to have an ED and also be veg*n. The two things do not correlate. Just because a person is veg*n it doesn't mean they're at a higher risk of having an eating disorder or whatever.
Honestly, it's these sorts of things that make being veg*n even more bloody harder than it is already
 
#15 ·
Hello! I have read over the concerns some people are expressing about some of the questions asked on the survey and how they relate to vegans/vegetarians. I realize that people who are vegan or vegetarian have to be more careful and aware when choosing what to eat or may have people in their lives who would like them to eat differently. I will take that into account when I look at the results of the data I collect.
Again, feel free to contact me if you have concerns/questions! I want to make sure I am addressing all concerns/questions!
 
#18 ·
Did it, but I don't think any of it had anything to do with me. As others have said, I'm a vegetarian for the animals, so I really can't relate to anything having to do with eating disorders. But because of the nature of the survey, my admitting that I'd like to lose 10 lbs (like just about everyone in their 30's in America) is going to make me seem like I'm obsessed, which isn't the case.

Also, it was kinda annoying going through the page of 30 questions where they kept switching from positive to negative statements about influences to look attractive, so I couldn't just click the "don't care" button under every single one without stopping to read them and make sure I was clicking the right thing. And I think the last page of true/false questions may have worked better on a sliding scale (Always/sometimes/never).

--Fromper
 
#19 ·
Of course there is a 3000 pound canary in the room. The all-time #1 selling book on vegan eating is "Skinny B**ch". This certainly suggests SOMEONE connects body image and veg*n eating. Given the sales, a lot of someones.

I think the question often defines the theorized relationship backwards. I don't think veg*ns necessarily correlate well with poor body image or ED. I do think folks who have eating disorders may see claiming or even adopting a so-called 'restricted' diet as an effective method of misdirection to downplay what is really going on.
 
#21 ·
I have binge eating issues which are technically not a DSM diagnosis. Vegetarianism has helped me to lose weight and start to control binges. I did not start this because I wanted to lose weight but because of anmal rights issues but the weight loss is a plus. I don't think the questions took into account someone that may binge and be overweight and controls their food in a healthy way. However, based on the fact that there is very little information regarding this topic, this is peliminary research. Are you planning on looking for just a correlation or have a regressin model in mind?
 
#22 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave in MPLS View Post

I think the question often defines the theorized relationship backwards. I don't think veg*ns necessarily correlate well with poor body image or ED. I do think folks who have eating disorders may see claiming or even adopting a so-called 'restricted' diet as an effective method of misdirection to downplay what is really going on.
I agree with this, I think there's a link between veg*anism and eating disorders, but not that veg*anism causes eating disorders, but that people with eating disorders often adopt veg*anism inorder to mask their problem or as a form of control. The questions didn't seem to be able to distinguish between this though.

I didn't do the survey, I had an eating disorder for a long time as a teenager, but now I've recovered. Some of the questions are in the present tense "do you feel X about Y" and others ask if you've EVER felt X, so my answers wouldn't make any sense because my responses would look like I engaged in lots of eating disordered behaviours, but felt fine, because the questions don't distinguish between behaviour NOW and behaviour years ago. I think the questions would be better set up "have you done X in the past month/week/etc", along said "do you feel X about Y".

Another point I had, I didn't go through the whole thing because I decided not to do it, but it seems to me if you had an eating disorder BEFORE you went vegetarian or vegan, the survey wouldn't pick up on that. The questions would make if look like there was a link between your eating disorder and your diet, when the two didn't co-incide. Again this is due to the fact the questions aren't in a given time-frame.

I think the survey is interesting, and could provide some interesting results, however I think the way it's set up at the moment could lead to inaccuracies.

 
#23 ·
The relationship shows would be a correlation and not one of causality. Causality is really hard to show in humans and would require randomly assigning a sample of the population to a condition like vegetarianism, veganism, omni, etc. and then seeing if it causes an eating dirorder (haha, meaning it is impossible). Correlation just mean co-occurence.
 
#26 ·
I was going through it and mid way stopped. I felt it was completely bias and could not continue. Just like someone said on here it's about body image and eating disorders. You might not get an accurate result based on the questions you have put on your survey. IMO.
 
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