Vegetarian diets

Vegetarianism as a way of life and nourishing style has an important presence in our society. Currently in Europe they are 3 to 8 % of the population, with an increasing tendency. Vegetarian diets are related to less incidence of developed world?s chronic diseases (cardiovascular impairment, arterial hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, cancer), but excluding animal origin foods carry some nutritional risks (energy, proteins, B12 vitamin and minerals deficit), specially in critical periods of life such as childhood and adolescence. The principles of this style of nutrition are revised, its benefits and risks, and some considerations and recommendations are established for Primary Care paediatricians counting with vegetarian families among their patients.