Processed meat linked to one in 30 early deaths

A bacon or sausage sandwich has long been the favoured breakfast choice for many.

But new research involving half a million people has highlighted links between processed meat and heart disease, cancer and early death.

Those who eat a lot of processed meat products have a significantly greater chance of dying prematurely than those consuming low amounts, and restricting levels of processed meat to under 20gms would reduce premature deaths by 3.3 per cent, the researchers said.

The overall risk of dying from any cause was 44 per cent greater for those who consumed higher levels of around 160g of processed meat: around two sausages and a slice of bacon.

The findings, reported in the journal BMC Medicine, come in the wake of the horse meat scandal which has affected many consumers and producers throughout Europe.

The study tracked people from 10 countries in Europe for around 13 years on average.

Overall, we estimate that 3 per cent of premature deaths each year could be prevented if people ate less than 20 grams of processed meat per day. Professor Sabine Rohrmann

Researchers found that people who eat a lot of processed meat are more likely to participate in other behaviours which damage health, such as smoking, eating fewer fruit and vegetables, and are more likely to be obese.

But even when these other risk factors are accounted for, processed meat was still found to be damaging to health.

‘Essential’ nutrients in red meat

The authors pointed out that not all meat is damaging, but that it is the high levels of salt, preservatives and saturated fat in processed meat that causes problems. Red meat contains essential nutrients and minerals that might be missing from a vegetarian diet, they added.

“Overall, we estimate that 3 per cent of premature deaths each year could be prevented if people ate less than 20 grams of processed meat per day,” said study leader Professor Sabine Rohrmann, from the University of Zurich in Switzerland.

“Risks of dying earlier from cancer and cardiovascular disease also increased with the amount of processed meat eaten.”

Dietician Tracy Parker, from the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said that red meat can still be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet, and urged people to choose leaner cuts of meat and healthier cooking methods.

The Epic (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study recruited men and women aged 35 to 70 with widely ranging diets from 10 European countries.

Participants filled in questionnaires about the food they had consumed over the previous 12 months.