Unhealthy diets account for 20 percent of all deaths worldwide

How our diet affects our life expectancy

Researchers have now found that nearly 20 percent of deaths worldwide are due to an unhealthy diet. High blood pressure and smoking, along with poor nutrition, are among the leading causes of premature death.

The scientists found in their extensive research that an unhealthy diet is one of the main reasons for premature death in today's society. The physicians published the numbers of deaths associated with an unhealthy diet in the so-called Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD).

More and more people are dying due to an unhealthy diet and resulting secondary diseases. (Image: vladimirfloyd / fotolia.com)

Cancer and diabetes cause nearly three quarters of deaths worldwide

Focusing on 2017, the study found that noncommunicable diseases, such as cancer and diabetes, now account for almost three-quarters of the 55.9 million deaths worldwide. However, many of these diseases are preventable. For example, hypertension and smoking still cause a massive mortality and health burden, the authors explain.

Worldwide, the most common cause of death is cardiovascular disease, in which abnormal tissue growth, including cancer, comes second and chronic respiratory disease third. Lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer deaths. The data shows that our behavior and lifestyle are the biggest threat to survival, with poor nutrition being the biggest risk factor, researchers point out. In fact, a poor diet in 2017 represented more than 19 percent of all deaths worldwide and nearly 70 percent of all coronary heart disease deaths worldwide.

There are fewer and fewer deaths from infections

The latest data show an increasing decrease in deaths related to birth defects and problems and an increase in deaths from diseases such as cancer and diabetes. These results are not just for developing countries, they are more of a global phenomenon.

Many people are eating too unhealthily

The effect of nutrition on the likelihood of dying prematurely is primarily due to the fact that the general diet of humans has changed dramatically. Most people eat too much calories and their diet also contains too much fat and carbohydrates, say the experts. In addition, those affected often do not move enough. Given that the trend is very much in the direction of obesity, it may well be that it plays a much bigger role in the causes of premature death in the future, the researchers add. A high blood sugar level that can lead to diabetes was already the fourth largest risk factor for premature death.

Air pollution causes many deaths worldwide

Worldwide, according to the latest research, almost nine percent of deaths (about 5 million) were due to air pollution. The extent of the effects of air pollution should receive much more attention, researchers say.

More and more dead in armed conflicts

The report also shows that the number of deaths from executions and police conflicts worldwide has tripled. In addition, the number of deaths from conflict and terrorism increased by 118 percent between 2007 and 2017. It is really worrying that the proportion of child conflict deaths is disproportionately high, the researchers emphasize. The so-called opioid epidemic is also taking hold. The number of substance abuse deaths has risen by almost 24 percent since 2007, and the number of opioid deaths has increased by 77 percent.

Antibiotic resistance is a big problem

The authors also express concerns about the delivery of antibiotics and the associated increase in resistance. They find that the number of deaths from extensively resistant tuberculosis has risen by 14 percent over the same period to 12,600 deaths per year. On a positive note, both the number of deaths and mortality rates for HIV / AIDS have more than halved since 2007. The number of measles deaths has also fallen by 57 percent, researchers say. The sudden infant death syndrome calls for less life in the meantime, whereby the mortality rate has fallen by more than 20 percent. Both the number and rate of Ebola deaths have dropped more than 98 percent between 2007 and 2017, the researchers report.

Overall fertility rate is declining

The research also looked at fertility trends and shows that the overall fertility rate continues to decline, probably due to declining infant mortality. It is expected that fertility rates will continue to decline. This is also because women today have more choices in preventing pregnancy. (As)