Being overweight is a risk factor for a large number of metabolic diseases, many of which were examined in this study.
Overweight people are more likely to develop diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and abnormal cholesterol levels.
Many of these factors have interactions with stress that make them more likely among health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This means that it is possible the positive effects of the vegan diet are underestimated by this study.