People become vegetarians for a whole range of reasons. Whatever the reason, it is important to have a well planned and balanced diet in order to be healthy and fit with energy to enjoy life and fun times.

---Types of vegetarians
Vegetarians avoid all meat and fish products.
Vegans eat fruit, grains, nuts, legumes and vegetables but avoid all food that comes from animals including meat, eggs, and dairy foods (such as milk and cheese).
A lacto-vegetarian eats fruit, vegetables, etc and dairy foods.
An ovo-vegetarian eats eggs as well as fruit, vegetables, legumes etc.
A lacto-ovo-vegetarian eats dairy foods, eggs and fruit, vegetables legumes etc.
Pesco-vegetarians eat fish, dairy foods, eggs and fruit, vegetables, legumes etc.
Semi-vegetarians eat dairy foods, eggs, fish and chicken, fruit, vegetables, etc but no red meat.
----Why people become vegetarian People who choose to become vegetarians do so for their own reasons. Reasons include:
preferring the tastes of vegetarian food
disliking the taste of meat
feeling ""heavier"" after eating meat
having concerns for animal welfare
religious beliefs
growing up in a vegetarian household
being influenced by vegetarian friends
being influenced by cost - meat can be expensive
caring about the environment (eg farming often means clearing virgin land; forests and jungles are destroyed)
wanting health benefits.
----Good stuff about vegetarianism
There may be health benefits to well-planned and properly balanced vegetarian eating. Some of the benefits include:
less risk of heart disease
less risk of high blood pressure
less risk of strokes
less risk of some forms of cancer
less risk of diabetes
less risk of arthritis
less risk of bowel disorders eg constipation.
This may be because vegetarians eat less saturated fat (the kind of fat in meat) and because they eat a higher amount of plant foods high in fiber.
Some vegetarians, however, eat about the same amount of fat that some meat eaters do if they eat a lot of cheese and eggs. Nutritionists recommend eating more fruit, vegetables, grains and legumes, and less fats and meats.
---Not-so-good stuff about vegetarianism OK, if your vegetarian diet is not well planned and well balanced, your health can be affected. Some of the ill-effects can be:
not enough iron (means little or no energy to get out and have fun)
not enough vitamin B12 (this is essential for healthy blood and nerves)
not enough calcium (calcium keeps your teeth pearly white and in good smiling order, and is essential for strong bones)
A well planned diet is important for your health now and throughout your life. A vegan diet (no animal protein at all eg fish, chicken, eggs, dairy foods) is more likely to cause health problems than other types of vegetarian diets.
----Staying healthy
To make up for some of the things that could be lacking in a vegetarian diet follow these guidelines.
Make sure you eat protein - legumes such as lentils, chick peas, red kidney beans, and nuts, eggs, dairy - every day.
Eat foods that are rich in iron - lentils, baked beans, some breakfast cereals eg muesli, bran flakes, sesame paste, broccoli, spinach, whole meal bread, iron-fortified cereal.
Iron from fruit and vegetables is digested more easily when combined with foods rich in Vitamin C (fruit juices, tomatoes, oranges, grapefruit, mangoes, bananas, pineapple, capsicum, and broccoli). Bread and breakfast cereals often have added iron. If you make a salad of baby spinach and tomatoes or oranges you'll get the iron (in the bread and spinach) and Vitamin C (in the tomato) which helps digest the iron.
Eat foods rich in calcium such as milk or calcium enriched soy milk, yoghurts or cheese.
You may need some vitamin supplements, most commonly vitamin B12 if you don't have any animal products at all.
(Source: kidshealth.org)