Increased Red Meat Consumption Linked to Higher Diabetes Risk

According to a new long-term observational study from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and the National University of Singapore, increasing the number of servings of red meat over time increases the risk of getting type 2 diabetes, while cutting back reduces the danger. The study is published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Using food questionnaires, researchers tracked the eating habits of almost 150,000 people every four years for an average of 20 years of follow-up. Their analysis took into account age, family history, race, smoking status, initial red meat consumption and lifestyle factors such as physical activity, alcohol intake and diet quality. The study found that among those who ate more red meat as the study progressed showed higher rates of diabetes than those whose red meat consumption didn’t change. Consuming 3.5 more servings of red meat per week during a four-year period increased a person’s chance of developing diabetes by almost 50 percent in the subsequent four years. Those who consumed 3.5 less servings of read meat per week during a four-year period didn’t have a short-term reduced risk of developing the disease, but over the subsequent 10 years, reduced their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 14 percent. The findings apply to both processed red meats, such as lunch meat and hot dogs, and unprocessed red meat, such as hamburger, steak and pork. The association was stronger for processed meat. Some experts suggest that the ...
Source: Highlight HEALTH - Category: Medical Scientists Authors: Source Type: blogs