Study Suggests That Meat Consumption May Reduce Lifespan, Says Dr. Michael Greger of NutritionFacts.org

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Sep 14, 2022, 15:16 ET

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the Global Burden of Disease Study, diets high in processed meats, such as bacon, ham, hot dogs, lunch meat, and sausage, may kill more than 100,000 people every year. Most deaths are due to heart disease, but cancer and diabetes also take lives. Eating meat-heavy diets results in millions of healthy years of life lost every year around the world—and it doesn't take much. The Union of Concerned Scientists estimated that thousands of annual cancer deaths could be averted if Americans cut down meat intake to just one ounce a week.

Physician and author of The New York Times bestsellers How Not to Die and How Not to Diet, Michael Greger, M.D. FACLM, weighs in: "It is as if each burger a person consumes is taking 30 minutes off their life. So, lifespan-wise, one burger appears to equal two cigarettes. If it wouldn't occur to someone to light up at lunch, then maybe choose the bean burrito instead of the hamburger. And processed meat is even worse."

Alternatively, you can compare life-extending behaviors. According to research, a lifetime of eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day may add an average of four years onto the lifespan of men and three years for women. That's up to twice as beneficial as exercising every day. Exercise still offers a 3:1 return on your time investment, though. Just 20 minutes of physical activity may add an hour to lifespan.

More information regarding these studies and a library of evidence-based health information can be found free to the public at www.nutritionfacts.org.

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SOURCE NutritionFacts