Folks who choose vegetarianism - either for religious reasons or personal preference - will in many ways look & feel the better for it. Their blood pressure is usually lower & more stable, whilst they rarely have problems with obesity or elevated cholesterol.
Eventually though their herbivorous diet will begin to impact on their health as iron, B12 & other nutritional stores become expended. Teenage girls are most at risk here as they will often choose vegetarianism as a dieting ‘fad’ or purely because they ‘don’t like the look or smell of meat’. My experience is these girls don’t consider protein vs. carbohydrate portions when planning their meals, nor do they supplement with multivitamins, minerals or (especially) amino acids.
Over time they become lethargic, suffer from dry skin, dry, lustreless hair that diminishes in density or falls out excessively. They feel chilled more often than not - particularly in their hands & feet. Seemingly disparate complaints of troublesome periods, increasing skin allergies, poor nail growth, continual cold or ‘flu bouts, or constipation may also emerge.
Vegetarians often have difficulty raising their Vitamin D levels through oral supplementation as the fatty acid content of meals is required to enhance absorption. Daily sunlight exposure of 15-30 minutes is the better option (avoiding the hottest period of the day), or Vitamin D injections may be considered.