Considering that grain, carbs and starchy things are usually not off limits to vegetarians, I think it would be easy for even vegans to pack on the pounds if they're not careful. I even saw a vegan cooking program which featured a woman who, while not considered "fat", had considerable meat on her bones and may have been on the brink of being overweight; even had the starting of a double chin, while the other woman with her looked about right. Then there are others who are definitely stick thin. I've even heard of a case in which a lacto-ovo vegetarian boy (due to his deep love for animals) who ate no meat at all, yet was obese, in fact, the fattest boy in his class due to his couch potato lifestyle of pigging out on potato chips, cake, ice cream and cookies, none of which contain meat but are extremely unhealthy if eaten too much.

Vegetarians come in all shapes and sizes, just like regular "omnivores" do. It all boils down to this: it's not what you eat, but how much.

I think this very much depends on why these people are vegetarians in the first place. The people who are vegetarians because they think it's a healthier diet, or think it helps them losing weight, will probably look thin because they mean to be. However, I have met many vegetarians that are vegetarians because of their religious beliefs, those usually aren't thin.They tend to eat a lot of other junks to make up for what they're missing from eating meat. For example, they tend to replace the lack of protein with bean products, sugar, or even fats.

My daughter and daughter-in-law are both vegetarians and I think they are beautiful. They are often complimented for their looks. They are not skinny; I believe they are just right.

Not all of them but certainly more than 50% of them. I would have said "scrawny wimps" though.

While I understand where the belief comes from, I know some vegetarians who are definately not in the "skinny waif" category.

I have seen some pretty good size vegos, so vegetarian does not equal skinny.