- Unhealthy eating habits are among the leading causes of early death around the world.
- Harvard researchers have recently found that a variety of healthy diets may help lower the risk of premature mortality.
- In their extensive study, participants who consistently maintained healthy eating patterns were less likely to die from noncommunicable diseases, compared with people who did not.
- The results support the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recommend adapting healthy dietary regimens according to personal traditions and preferences.
Growing evidence confirms that dietary choices are key to maintaining health. Research increasingly indicates that unhealthy eating habits can lead to early, preventable deaths.
Until now, though, studies have generally focused on the life-promoting benefits of individual foods or food components.
Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, MA, recently led a study to see how long-term eating patterns affect mortality risks.
These experts assessed adherence to diets that align with the current
Corresponding author Dr. Frank Hu, Fredrick J. Stare professor of nutrition and epidemiology, and chair of the Department of Nutrition notes that “[t]he Dietary Guidelines for Americans are intended to provide science-based dietary advice that promotes good health and reduces major chronic diseases.”
“Thus, it is critical to examine the associations between DGAs-recommended dietary patterns and long-term health outcomes, especially mortality,” he adds.
The study findings appear in
The Harvard researchers analyzed and combined results from the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS).
The NHS, which began in 1976, tracked the health data of female nurses…
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