Nearly One Million People and 27 Years of Follow-Up: Scientists Examine How Meat Consumption Is Linked to Longevity

A large study by U.S. researchers found that limiting red and processed meat was associated with a small reduction in the risk of death from several causes. However, switching exclusively to white meat or eliminating meat altogether did not show an equally strong association with longevity.

The study was published in the journal Current Developments in Nutrition.

Researchers analyzed data from nearly 1 million people who participated in a large-scale study conducted by the American Cancer Society. Participants completed questionnaires about their diet and lifestyle in 1982 and were then followed for an average of 27.5 years. During that period, 626,000 deaths were recorded.

Participants were divided into several groups based on their consumption of red and processed meat: high, moderate, and low consumption. The researchers also separately examined people who consumed only white meat — poultry or fish — as well as participants classified as meat-free or vegetarian.

After accounting for age, sex, smoking, alcohol consumption, body weight, health status, and other factors, low consumption of red and processed meat was the only category in the overall population that maintained a statistically significant association with all of the mortality outcomes studied.

Compared with high consumption of red and processed meat, low consumption was associated with a lower risk of death from all causes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and stroke. For stroke, the reduction was about 4%.

The findings were more pronounced in some groups. For example, among men, consuming only white meat was associated with a 7% reduction in overall mortality, while among people with a normal body weight, the reduction was 5%. Among participants who lived to age 80 or older, overall mortality was also 6% lower compared with those in the high red and processed meat consumption group.

For cancer mortality, low consumption of red and processed meat was associated with an approximately 2–5% lower risk across several age and other subgroups. Among people who reached age 80, consuming only white meat was associated with a 9% reduction in the risk of death from cancer.

The findings for a vegetarian diet, however, were much less clear-cut. In the overall population, avoiding meat did not show a consistent association with lower mortality. A significant 6% reduction in overall mortality was observed only among participants aged 50–64.

The authors emphasize that the study does not establish a cause-and-effect relationship between meat consumption and longevity. It also has important limitations: participants’ diets were assessed only once, in 1982; dietary data were relatively general; and the groups of people who completely avoided meat or consumed only white meat were relatively small.

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter