Regular meat eating linked to higher risk of common illnesses

EATING MEAT regularly could carry a higher risk of a wide range of common illnesses, a new study suggests.

Previous studies have linked red and processed meat – like bacon or sausages – to several diseases, such as bowel cancer.

But a new study examined the relationship between meat consumption in general and 25 common illnesses other than cancer.

Researchers from the University of Oxford looked at 475,000 men and women who are taking part in the UK Biobank study.

Participants reported their levels of meat consumption – which was checked with follow-up surveys – and researchers tracked those taking part for an average of eight years to assess whether they went on to develop any of the conditions. People who ate meat three or more times a week were deemed to be “regular” meat eaters.

These people were also likely to have more “adverse health behaviours” than people who ate meat less regularly, including being overweight, smoking, drinking and eating less fruit and vegetables.

The study, in the journal BMC Medicine, found that higher consumption of meat – including processed and unprocessed meat – carried a higher risk of heart disease, pneumonia and digestive conditions. People who ate more meat were also more likely to have polyps in the bowel and diabetes.

But eating unprocessed red meat was linked to a lower risk of iron deficiency anaemia.

People who ate more poultry were found to be more likely to have reflux – or gastro-oesophageal reflux disease – and digestive conditions, diseases of the gall bladder and diabetes.

But they were also found to have a lower risk of anaemia. The authors said that having a higher body mass index (BMI) accounted for a “substantial proportion” of the increased risks among regular meat eaters.