A new study provides strong evidence of increased risk of diabetes over time with the consumption of processed or unprocessed red meat.
Findings from a new study may kill all desire to grill hot-dogs, pork chops or steaks, as the long-term research shows evidence of elevated risk of developing diabetes over time with increased intake of processed or unprocessed red meat.
Frank Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, and also the study's senior author says that the latest study finds strong evidence of the association between red meant intake and diabetes, reports USA Today. The study results are based on the data from three major Harvard studies that followed a large group of 140,000 health professionals for 12 to 16 years. The participants answered questionnaires about their diet every four years.
Nearly 3 million people in the U.K. have been diagnosed with diabetes and over 850,000 have the condition without their knowledge, while nearly 26 million people in the U.S. have the disease. A report from the American Diabetes Association shows that nearly $176 billion is spent in the U.S. annually towards the treatment of diabetes. More than 3 million people are diagnosed with diabetes worldwide, says a WHO report.
Researchers found that people who increased the intake of red meat by half a serving a day (about 1.5 onces) over a four-year period, had 48 percent increased risk of developing type-2 diabetes compared to those who did not change the quantity red meat intake. However, reduction in the red-meat intake by half a serving each day yielded 14 percent less possibility of developing the disease in the next ten years. Reduction of red meat intake had no short-term results.
An Pan, a professor at the National University of Singapore and the study's lead author, told Reuters that "if you are doing some 'bad' things, you will see the impact immediately, but for the 'good' lifestyle habit to have an effect, you may need to wait longer and accumulate more moderate changes."
The findings of the study are published online in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) Internal Medicine.
