A new study that was conducted on a group of British adults found that people who were exposed to the western style diet were at a greater risk of dying young and not being able to attain older ages in good health, according to Science Daily.
"The impact of diet on specific age-related diseases has been studied extensively, but few investigations have adopted a more holistic approach to determine the association of diet with overall health at older ages," said lead investigator Tasnime Akbaraly, PhD, Inserm, Montpellier, France. "We examined whether diet, assessed in midlife, using dietary patterns and adherence to the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), is associated with aging phenotypes, identified after a mean 16-year follow-up."
The Alternative Healthy Eating Index is an index that measures the quality of food. It was originally designed to provide guidelines on diet that would help fight chronic conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
The study was conducted on 3,775 men and 1,575 women whose data was followed from 1985 to 2009. The data included results of screenings conducted every five years, hospital data, and registry data, with this investigators identified mortality and chronic diseases among the participants.
The study determined that participants with low adherence to the AHEI increased their risk of cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular death. Those who followed a "Western-type diet" consisting of fried and sweet food, processed food and red meat, refined grains, and high-fat dairy products lowered their chances for ideal aging.
