One in five deaths a year is linked to poor diets globally, and that led to the death of about 11 million people in 2017, researchers have reported from a new study.
The report, released Thursday in The Lancet journal, indicates that poor diet is responsible for more deaths than any other risk factor.
A breakdown of the study showed that Nigeria is among countries with low intake of whole grains and fruits, and high consumption of sodium – found in salt – accounted for more than half of diet-related deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs).
The causes of these deaths included ten million diet-related deaths in 2017 were from cardiovascular disease; cancer was responsible for 913,000 deaths, and Type 2 diabetes accounted for 339,000 deaths. In addition, 66 percent of disabilities in 2017 from a range of chronic diseases were due to those three factors, according to the report.
In terms of lowest death rates, the UK ranked 23rd, above Ireland (24th) and Sweden (25th), while the United States ranked 43rd, after Rwanda and Nigeria (41st and 42nd). India ranked 118th, and China ranked 140th.
“This study affirms what many have thought for several years — that poor diet is responsible for more deaths than any other risk factor in the world,” said study author Christopher Murray, who is director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in the United States.
“Our assessment suggests the leading dietary risk factors are high intake of sodium [salt] or low intake of healthy foods,” he said.
The new study is part of the yearly Global Burden of Disease report, prepared by a group of thousands of researchers that tracks premature death and disability from more than 350 diseases and injuries in 195 countries.
Akinyemi Tunde, a dietician, says that considering the need for urgent action globally, there was important for Nigerians to be aware of the important links between diets and health.
“I urge Nigerians to improve access and availability of foods that contribute to healthy diets and this effort can be made by the public policymakers, food marketers and distributors to help make this change,” he said.
Meanwhile, the magnitude of diet-related disease highlights that many existing campaigns have not been effective and the authors call for new food system interventions to rebalance diets around the world. Importantly, they note that changes must be sensitive to the environmental effects of the global food system to avoid adverse effects on climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, depleting freshwater, and soil degradation.
“Globally, these findings may serve as a reminder that when it comes to ending hunger and improving health, people don’t just need food,” the report said.
“They need nourishment. If you fill up on a diet of packaged snacks made from refined-carbohydrates and sugary sodas, you may get the calories you need, but those calories will put you on a path toward disease.”
