Eating Badly Kills The World The Most

A poor diet is the cause of one in five premature deaths in the world, which could be avoided with changes in food production systems and by choosing the ingredients of meals well. These figures, worldwide, are above tobacco and sedentary lifestyle.

These are the main conclusions of a study, led by Dr. Ashjan Afshin, from the University of Washington (United States), which has been carried out with data from 195 countries and yields very specific data: he estimates that tobacco was the cause of 8 million deaths in the world in 2017, while bad food was responsible for 11 million deaths.

The advice: more healthy plant foods and less meat, sugar and salt

As for the causes, the authors of the research published in The Lancet conclude that the good that we do not eat kills more than the bad that we eat. According to them, we have to eat more fruits, more whole grains, more nuts and seeds, and more vegetables. Instead, to make room for them in the stomach, you should eat less processed meat, sugary drinks and salt.

Eating habits translate into death figures:

1. Excess salt cost 3 million deaths in 2017.
2. Insufficient consumption of whole grains, another 3 million.
3. Insufficient intake of fruits, 2 million.

Dr. Ashjan Asfshin recommends that health authorities try to direct the population towards healthy foods, instead of just warning them about the most harmful products.

The research, to which 130 experts from 40 nations have contributed , analyzed the relationship between 15 dietary factors – such as the proportions of each category of food and nutrients or the consumption of processed foods – and the incidence of disease in populations of all the world from 1990 to 2017.

Spain, one of the three countries where people eat less badly

The 11 million premature deaths caused by poor diet in the world are divided into three pathological categories: 9.4 million from cardiovascular diseases, 913,000 from cancer and 339,000 from type 2 diabetes.

If we go down to the detail of each country, Spain comes out very well. Along with Israel and France, it is part of the trio of countries with the fewest deaths attributable to poor diet, with 89.5 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in 2017 (88.9 Israel and 89.1 France). Advanced countries, like the United States, practically double the number of deaths in Spain.

At the opposite extreme are countries with widespread malnutrition due to injustice and social inequality, such as Afghanistan, with 750 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, Guinea Bissau, with 415, and Somalia, with 431.

A plant-based diet would be healthier and more sustainable

Although it is not the main objective of the study, the authors suggest some changes that could be introduced in food production systems that would also represent an aid in the fight against climate change:

“Over the past decade, a growing body of evidence has emerged showing that changing from a diet based on unhealthy animal foods (eg red and processed meats) to one based on healthy vegetables (eg fruits, vegetables and whole grains), could be associated with low greenhouse gas emissions and could be more environmentally sustainable. “

The composition of the ideal diet in 15 parameters

The study offers the opportunity to compare the personal diet with the model used by the researchers, based on the review of the scientific literature. Keep in mind that it is an omnivorous model (in a real diet, foods of animal origin can be substituted for vegetables ).

The 15 parameters are as follows (the figures indicate the optimal daily intake margin; when the lower margin is 0 it is understood that this is the recommended figure):

1. Fruit: 200-300 g daily
2. Vegetables: 290-430 g
3. Legumes: 50-70 g
4. Whole grains : 100-150 g
5. Nuts and seeds: 16-25 g
6. Milk: 350-520 g
7. Red meat: 19-28 g
8. Processed meat: 0-4 g
9. Sugary drinks: 0-5 g
10. Fiber: 19-28 g
11. Calcium: 1-1.5 g
12. Omega-3 fatty acids (from fish): 200-300 mg
13. Polyunsaturated fatty acids: 9-13% of calories ingested
14. Trans fatty acids: 0-1%
15. Sodium: 1-5 g

The authors of the study, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, acknowledge that the figures are estimates due to the complexity of the data analyzed.

Reference:

• Ashjan Asfshin et al. Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet.