what are the health benefits to becoming a vegetarian?

You eat less fat and salt. As long as you replace meat protein with vegetable source protein.

I'm not a strict vegetarian (chicken if there isn't a veggie option, and the odd bit of fish when I can afford it).

The benefits? Well, the primary one is that it's helped settle my stomach. For some reason, my system just did not like red meat (and it still rebels if I eat more than a single chicken breast in a sitting). So, no bloating, cramping, or that "heavy" feeling I used to get.

I'm still overweight, but 50 pounds less so than my meat-eating twin (sweets and cheese are landmines). My cholesterol and blood pressure are also fashionably low. Where I get nailed, though, is iron. So, either supplement or hope you like prune juice, spinach, and cooking with cast iron pots.

the health benafits are that you lose some weight and don't always rely on meat to fill up for your meals and that will help later on in life and those are the benefits of a vegetarian.

My co-worker is vegetarian but he weights like 350lb...you won't loose any weight becoming a vegetarian for sure. His wife is also a vegetarian since the day she was born...she is also obese.

Make sure you get enough Calicum and Protein.