New research has found that a poor diet now kills more people around the world than smoking does.
(Source: www.pixabay.com)The report, which has been published in the Lancet journal, says eating badly is responsible for 11,000,000 deaths a year.
That's compared to tobacco which kills 8,000,000.
Researchers looked at figures from 190 countries and found people are eating too much salt and processed meats, and not enough fruit, nuts and seeds.
Sky reporter Phil Edwards says it is causing many conditions:
"We're talking about Type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart disease, that sort of thing."
Analysis of data published in The Lancet journal showed that low intake of whole grains and fruits, and high consumption of sodium, found in salt, accounted for more than half of diet-related deaths.
The rest were attributed to high consumption of red and processed meat, sugar-sweetened drinks, and other unhealthy foods including those containing trans-fatty acids.
Personal trainer and health expert Karl Henry has explained to iRadio what we need to be eating more of in this country:
"In terms of a balanced diet, the key thing is it should have all the food groups; proteins, carbohydrates and fats...Simple stuff, in terms of breakfast options - porridge is really really good, eggs are fantastic with some brown toast. The lunch options could be a brown roll, brown wraps, brown bread with some protein and some vegetables in it. Then for dinner just a handful of protein and then lots of vegetables on the plate. [You can have] snacks in between, so fruit, nut butters, nuts and seeds are obviously fantastic as well."
