Do vegans have higher fracture risk?

Summary

Not for most vegans — and where risk exists it's about specific, avoidable nutrients, not plant-based eating itself. EPIC-Oxford found higher fracture rates in vegans, but the excess tracked three factors that clustered together in that cohort: low calcium intake, low protein intake, and low body weight. Vegans who got adequate calcium and protein and weren't underweight had risk close to meat-eaters. (The often-quoted "131% higher hip fracture" is a relative figure on a small absolute base — very roughly 15 extra hip fractures per 1,000 people over 10 years.) Get enough calcium, vitamin D, and protein, stay a healthy weight, and do some weight-bearing exercise — which a varied vegan diet with fortified foods handles routinely — and bone health is a normal, achievable outcome, not a fraught project.