Millions of cardiovascular deaths from under-consumption of fruits and vegetables

Preliminary findings from a new study reveal that inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables can explain each year millions of deaths due to heart disease or stroke. The study estimated that about 1 out of 7 cardiovascular deaths could be attributed to insufficient fruit intake and that one in 12 cardiovascular deaths to insufficient vegetable intake.

According to researchers, low fruit consumption resulted in nearly 1.8 million cardiovascular deaths in 2010, while low vegetable consumption resulted in 1 million deaths. Overall, suboptimal fruit consumption was almost double that of vegetables. The most severe impacts were observed in countries with the lowest average fruit and vegetable consumption.

"Fruits and vegetables are an editable component of the diet that can impact preventable deaths worldwide," said Victoria Miller, lead author of the study, a postdoctoral fellow at the Friedman School of Science and Science. Nutrition Policy of Tufts University. "Our results point to the need for people-centered efforts to increase fruit and vegetable consumption around the world."

Miller will present the results of the research at Nutrition 2019, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, which was held from June 8 to 11, 2019 in Baltimore.

Fruits and vegetables are good sources of fiber, potbadium, magnesium, antioxidants and phenolic compounds, which have been shown to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol. Fresh fruits and vegetables also improve the health and diversity of good bacteria in the digestive tract. People who consume more of these foods are also less likely to be overweight or obese, which reduces their risk of cardiovascular disease.

"Global priorities in nutrition have always been to provide enough calories, vitamin supplementation and reduce additives like salt and sugar," said Dariush Mozaffarian, senior author of the study, Dean of Nutrition. Friedman School of Science and Policy at Tufts University. "These results indicate that there is a need to focus more attention on increasing the availability and consumption of protective foods such as fruits, vegetables and legumes – a Positive message offering considerable potential for improving global health. "

Based on dietary recommendations and studies on cardiovascular risk factors, the researchers defined an optimal fruit intake of 300 grams per day, equivalent to about two small apples. The optimal intake of vegetables, including legumes, has been set at 400 grams per day, which corresponds to about three cups of raw carrots.

The researchers estimated the average national intake of fruits and vegetables from food surveys and data on food availability representing 113 countries (about 82% of the world population) and then combined these with information with data on the causes of death in each country and data on the badociated cardiovascular risk. with insufficient consumption of fruits and vegetables. This work is part of the global database project on diets funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Based on 2010 data, scientists estimated that suboptimal fruit consumption resulted in nearly 1.3 million stroke deaths each year and more than 520,000 deaths from coronary artery disease (narrowing of the heart arteries) in the United States. world. It is estimated that suboptimal vegetable consumption would cause approximately 200,000 stroke deaths and more than 800,000 deaths from coronary heart disease.

The impact of low fruit and vegetable consumption was particularly pronounced in countries with the lowest fruit and vegetable consumption. Countries in South Asia, East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa have low fruit consumption and a high rate of badociated stroke deaths. Countries in Central Asia and Oceania had low vegetable consumption and a high rate of coronary heart disease.

In the United States, suboptimal vegetable intake can account for 82,000 cardiovascular deaths, while suboptimal fruit consumption has resulted in 57,000 deaths. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and around the world.

By age group, suboptimal consumption of fruits and vegetables had the largest proportional perceived impact on cardiovascular disease deaths among young adults. By bad, suboptimal consumption of fruits and vegetables had the largest proportional impact on deaths from cardiovascular disease in men, probably because women tend to eat more fruits and vegetables, Miller noted.