Comparison of the basic characteristics between the vegetarian and non-vegetarian groups.

BMI = body mass index, BP = blood pressure, HDL-C = high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, LDL-C = low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, T-Chol = total cholesterol, TG = triglyceride, HOMA-IR = homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance index, MNCEP MetS = modified national cholesterol education program criteria of the metabolic syndrome, IDF MetS = International Diabetes Federation criteria of the metabolic syndrome, and IFG ± DM = impaired fasting glucose ± diabetes mellitus, * diabetics were excluded. + The original numbers were shown despite log transformation before statistical tests.