Sausages, bacon, ham and other processed meats increase the risk of dying prematurely and developing conditions such as cancer and heart disease, a Europe-wide study of nearly half a million people has found.
Looking at 448,568 men and women, the study found that those who ate the most processed meat were 44% more likely to die prematurely from heart disease and cancer than those who consumed small amounts of it.
The study was carried out over the course of 13 years, on average, in Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The authors, led by Professor Sabine Rohrmann from the University of Zurich, estimated that 3.3% of deaths could have been prevented if people had consumed less than 20g of processed meat per day (the equivalent of one full English breakfast a week). They concluded that there is a “moderate positive association between processed meat consumption and mortality, in particular due to cardiovascular diseases, but also to cancer.”
Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy at City University, London, said: “The key issue is we don’t know what a good diet is, we’ve had dietary guidelines based on a very narrow based idea of what is nutrition.”
“For me, this study is another reminder of the need to go for a more sustainable diet.”
