SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, DIETARY PATTERNS, AND NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF VEGETARIANS

Vegetarianism is one of the most popular dietary patterns in the world, including among Indonesians. This study was conducted to determine the profile of vegetarians in Palembang based on socio-demographic characteristics, physical activity level, dietary type, total energy intake, total macronutrient intake, and nutritional status. The design of this study was a descriptive observational study with a cross-sectional design. Maha Vihara Maitreya Duta (MVMD) was the vegetarian population in this survey. Participants who agreed to take part in the survey were at least 18 years old, have been vegetarian for at least three years, were not pregnant or planning to become pregnant, and did not have any chronic ailments. A total of 148 samples were acquired using a consecutive sampling technique. To establish nutritional status, primary data were collected by completing food recall interviews during the last 24 hours on two non-consecutive days. Height and weight were measured to determine nutritional status. The highest age range of participants was 30–49 years (54,1%). The majority of the population was female (61,5%) and was a college graduate (56,1%). Most participants had permanent jobs (85,8%), engaged in light-to-moderate physical activity, and were in a normal body mass index range (68,2%). Most subjects were lacto-ovo-vegetarian (59,5%). Most participants were vegetarian for 6-10 years (31,1%). Most motivations for becoming a vegetarian are health-related (45,3%). Vegans consumed more calories, carbs, and protein than non-vegans, but less fat. Most vegan and non-vegan respondents had good nutritional status and were in the less category for achieving calorie and protein requirements.


Introduction
Asian countries have the greatest percentage of vegetarians in the world. 1 According to a 2018 worldwide poll, Indonesia had the third-highest growth rate in vegetarianism. 2 The number of restaurants and vegetarian cafes shows that the number of vegetarians in Palembang City is also growing fast. 3

Research Results
The data were taken from the moderate MVMD Palembang community, and as many as 148 people met the research criteria. Table 1 (Table 3).
We further attempted to compare the total intake characteristics of the vegan and non-vegan groups ( Table 4). The vegan group had higher total calories, carbohydrates, and protein than the nonvegan group, except for fat intake.
It turns out that vegans were able to meet their protein needs better than non- However, for protein adequacy, the vegan group apparently had slightly outperformed non-vegans, even 2 of them were able to meet protein exceeding 120% RDA.

Discussion
The Nutritional status is a condition induced by a balance between nutritional intake from meals and metabolic demands.
Depending on their age, gender, level of physical activity, weight, and height, each individual has a unique nutrient intake requirement. 11  the prevalence of people with heart disease was 1.5%, and the prevalence of people with stroke increased to 1.09% from 0.7% in 2013. 16 Vegans restrict all kinds of animal foods from the daily menu. Animal foods have more fat than plant foods. Animal source foods also tend to be high in calories. This is clearly seen in the comparison of the amount of intake between vegans and nonvegans in this study, where the amount of fat was higher in the non-vegan group.
In this study, the vegan group also consumed slightly more total calories on average than the non-vegan group. Even so, most were still in the range of calorie intake that was less than it should be. According to previous research, recent plant-based product innovation has focused more on organoleptic properties (texture, taste, and appearance) and formats (nuggets and burgers), rather than developing innovative ways to increase the nutrient density of plant-derived foods and ensure a balanced nutrient profile similar to animal-derived products. 17 Previous research also has found no substantial variation in calorie intake between vegetarians and non-vegetarians. 18 This shows that the control of the amount of calorie intake should still be done, regardless of diet choices. The risk of protein deficiency in both groups was very large, because protein intake was mostly in the inadequate range. The intriguing thing was that a tiny fraction of vegans were able to achieve their protein requirements, with a higher percentage in the group than non-vegans. This shows that being a vegans is not necessarily unmet protein needs. A previous study found that low and non-meat eaters consumed more high-protein meat alternatives (soy, legumes, pulses, nuts, seeds) and other plant-based foods (whole grains, vegetables, fruits) and less refined grains, fried meals, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages than regular meat-eaters. 19 According to research conducted in Yogyakarta, the vegan group consumed more protein and carbohydrates, whereas the non-vegan group consumed more fat and calories. 13 A vegetarian diet, like any other form of diet, can meet nutrient and calorie requirements; but it can also lead to malnutrition. In all types of diets, the amount and type of food consumed remain a top emphasis. This study did not analyze the type of food consumed, which is an interesting matter for further research. The risk of energy and protein deficiency can be further confirmed through physical and laboratory examinations to determine overall health status.

Conclusions and Recommendation
The age range of the respondents is young adults, the percentage of women is slightly higher, and most of them are highly