Model Predicts Impact of Food Choices on Life Expectancy
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 16, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Young adults who are willing to ditch the typical Western diet may gain a decade or more in life expectancy (LE), according to a study published online Feb. 8 in PLOS Medicine.
Lars T. Fadnes, Ph.D., from the University of Bergen in Norway, and colleagues used life table methodology to estimate how LE changes with sustained changes in the intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, refined grains, nuts, legumes, fish, eggs, milk/dairy, red meat, processed meat, and sugar-sweetened beverages. The analysis included data from the Global Burden of Disease study from 2019.
The researchers found that a sustained change from a typical Western diet to the optimal diet from age 20 years is estimated to increase LE by more than a decade for U.S. women and men. A change to the optimized diet at age 60 years from a typical diet is estimated to increase LE by 8.0 years for women and 8.8 years for men, while 80-year-olds could gain about 3.4 years. Adoption of a feasibility diet (a midpoint between an optimal and a typical Western diet) from a typical diet is estimated to increase LE by 6.2 years for 20-year-old U.S. women and 7.3 years for U.S. men. The largest LE gains would result from eating more legumes, whole grains, and nuts and less red meat and processed meat.
"The online Food4HealthyLife calculator enables the instant estimation of the effect on LE of a range of dietary changes," the authors write, adding that it "could be a useful tool for clinicians, policy makers, and laypeople to understand the health impact of dietary choices."
Related Posts
Social Media Has Big Impact on People Taking Up Smoking, Vaping
WEDNESDAY, July 13, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- The potent influence of social...
What Is Croup? Its Symptoms and Treatment
Croup can be a scary thing for new parents to watch their babies struggle with,...
Long COVID Often Brings Another Issue: Stigma
TUESDAY, Nov. 29, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- People with long COVID deal with...
EU Drug Regulator OKs Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots
MONDAY, Oct. 4, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech...