According to new research which is sure to disappoint fans of the full English breakfast and other culinary staples of Britain, the typical Western diet, high in fat and sugar, really does lead to an early grave. A study of more than 5,000 civil servants found that those who ate the most fried and sweet food, processed and red meat, white bread and butter and cream doubled their risk of ill health in old age or premature death.
This only adds to the body of evidence that ‘Western style food’ is the reason why heart disease claims about 94,000 lives a year in the UK. This is more than any other illness and it is a very serious problem. The findings, which were published in The American Journal of Medicine, are based on a survey of British adults and suggest that this diet increases the risk of premature death and disability later in life.
The research team showed that if you follow specific dietary recommendations such as the one that was provided by the AHEI may be useful in reducing the risk of unhealthy ageing, while avoidance of the “Western-type foods” might actually improve the possibility of achieving older ages in a better state of health.
The authors followed 3,775 men and 1,575 women from 1985 to 2009 with a mean age of 51 years. Using a combination of hospital data, results of screenings that were conducted every five years and registry data, investigators noticed that death rates and chronic diseases increased among participants. At the follow up stage, just four per cent had achieved ‘ideal ageing’ which is classed as being free from conditions and having high performance in physical, mental and mental agility tests.
Comments are closed.