In 5,203 adults ages 80 and older in China, a vegetarian pattern lined up with lower odds of reaching 100, mainly when body weight was low

What the research found

Study (nested case-control in a cohort). Yaqi Li and colleagues report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (online 12 Dec 2025; February 2026 issue; DOI 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.101136) using the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. Of 5,203 people ages 80 and older, 1,459 later reached 100 and 3,744 died before 100. Mean age was about 94, about 61.5 percent were women, and median follow-up was 4 years. Relative to omnivores, vegetarians had lower odds of becoming centenarians (odds ratio 0.81, 95 percent CI 0.69 to 0.96). Vegans were lower still (0.71, 0.54 to 0.98). Pesco-vegetarians and ovo-lacto-vegetarians were not clearly different from omnivores. The gap was in people with body mass index under 18.5 (0.72, 0.57 to 0.91), not in those at or above 18.5 (0.92, 0.73 to 1.17). News coverage of the same paper said the association appeared in women and not in men; the journal abstract highlights the weight split. This is one national cohort, not a reason to add or drop a food. Not medical advice.

Evidence level: Human study. A study in people, but an association isn't proof of cause.

Read the original at Fudan University / American Journal of Clinical Nutrition