Poor Dieting Contributes to 1 in 5 Deaths

Diet plays an important role in our health and longevity. If you eat nutritious, well-balanced meals, you'll have a lower risk of disease and illness than someone who eats processed meals consisting mainly of filler ingredients. However, a new study has revealed just how important a healthy diet really is. According to researchers at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, poor dieting is responsible for nearly one in five deaths globally.

For the study, researchers analyzed health data from every country in the world, looking closely at the causes of mortality. Researchers found that the average life expectancy has increased in recent years. In 2016, the global life expectancy for women was 75.3 years, while the global life expectancy for men was 69.8 years. The country with the highest life expectancy, however, was Japan, where residents live an average of 84 years. And the country with the lowest was the Central African Republic, where residents live just 50 years.

Perhaps the most interesting findings from this study, however, was the causes of death. Not surprisingly, tobacco topped the list as being the leading risk factor for early mortality. Tobacco smoke contains thousands of chemicals, many of which are toxic and/or cancer-causing. Other studies have shown that long-term smokers live nearly 10 fewer years than their nonsmoking counterparts, attesting to the dangers of smoking.

The second most influential risk factor of early mortality was poor dieting. Researchers found that people who didn't follow a proper, well-balanced diet were more likely to die early than their counterparts who did follow a healthy diet. This is particularly true when speaking about whole grains, which are an essential yet commonly overlooked component of a healthy diet.

"Our findings indicate people are living longer and, over the past decade, we identified substantial progress in driving down death rates from some of the world’s most pernicious diseases and conditions, such as under age-five mortality and malaria,” said the study's lead author and researcher. “Yet, despite this progress, we are facing a triad of trouble holding back many nations and communities – obesity, conflict, and mental illness, including substance use disorders.”

In addition to smoking and poor dieting, other risk factors of early mortality identified in this study include high blood sugar levels, high blood pressure, obesity and high cholesterol. Of course, these risk factors can also be attributed to poor dieting. When you eat the wrong foods, it increases the risk of conditions such as these, further compounding the problem.

This study was published in the journal Lancet.