Vegans take more time off work than any other group

Vegans are more likely to take time off work for cold-related sickness than either vegetarians or people who have meat in their diet, according to a new British survey.

They take almost double the average time off work for minor ailments compared to their non-vegan colleagues.

A study of 1,000 office workers carried out for the Fisherman’s Friend Annual Cold & Flu Survey revealed that vegans took an average of almost 4.8 days off work in the past year as a result of cold, coughs or flu, compared with the average British worker's annual sick day count of 2.5.

The average number of days taken was:

Vegan 4.78

Pescatarian 2.79

Flexitarian 2.67

Vegetarian 2.60

Lactose-intolerant 2.50

Omnivore 1.69

Gluten-free 1.46

Carnivore 1.40

None of the above 1.34

Average 2.50

It also appears that vegans are three times as likely to take a trip to their GP during the cold and flu season, booking 2.6 appointments to see the doctor compared with the national average of just 0.7 visits.