The Estimated Health Impact of Poor Diets (BBC News / Lancet / NHS Digital)

Summary

Poor diet has been estimated to be a bigger killer than smoking. Malnutrition (resulting from poor quality diets) may play a role in one in five premature deaths world-wide; an estimated 11 million people. The most dangerous diets contain:

• Excess salt; calculated to be involved in an estimated three million deaths.
• Insufficient whole grains; calculated to be involved an estimated three million deaths.
• Insufficient fruit; calculated to be involved an estimated two million deaths.
• Insufficient consumption of nuts, seeds, vegetables, omega-3 (seafood) and fibre are other common features of bad diets contributing to premature mortality.

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Reference

Gallagher, J. (2019). The diets cutting one-in-five lives short every year. London: BBC Health News, April 4^th 2019.

This relates to:

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Reference

GBD 2017 Diet Collaborators. Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet. April 3^rd 2019. [Epub ahead of print].

“We did not evaluate the effect of other forms of malnutrition (ie, undernutrition and obesity)”. p.12.

Further analysis appears in an NHS Behind the Headlines critical appraisal of this research:

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Reference

Poor diet now killing more than smoking. London: NHS Digital (previously NHS Choices); Behind the Headlines, April 4^th 2019.

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