04 Apr 2019 --- One in five deaths – the equivalent of 11 million deaths globally – are associated with poor diet, which also contributes to a range of chronic diseases. In 2017, more deaths were caused by diets with too low amounts of foods such as whole grains, fruit, nuts and seeds, than by diets with high levels of sugar, trans fats and red and processed meats. This is according to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study tracking trends in consumption of 15 dietary factors from 1990 to 2017 in 195 countries, published in The Lancet. The researchers are now calling on governments to focus on increasing the consumption of healthy foods and on industry to drive innovation through producing affordable and nutritious food, as well as formulating lower sodium or higher-nut options.
