Study Finds Unhealthy Diets Lead To More Deaths Than Smoking

A new study purports that 11 million deaths around the globe are linked to poor diets, making it the leading risk factor for deaths due to lifestyle-related diseases, according to an article on NPR’s the Salt.

The study, published by The Lancet, analyzed the diets of people in 195 countries, then estimated the risk of death from heart disease, certain cancers and diabetes. Researchers also calculated deaths related to other relevant risk factors like smoking and drug use, notes NPR. Countries with the lowest rates of diet-related disease include Israel, France, Spain, Japan and nations that consume a Mediterranean diet. The U.S ranked 43rd on the list.

"This study shows that poor diet is the leading risk factor for deaths in the majority of the countries of the world," said study author Ashkan Afshin of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, adding that poor diets are "a larger determinant of ill health than either tobacco or high blood pressure.”