United States:Consumption of red meat and processed meat has been observed to be associated with increased risk of development of type 2 diabetes, according to a new review.
People who had consumed 50 grams of processed meat daily-which is equivalent to two slices of ham- had their risks of developing type 2 diabetes 10 years later rising by 15%, the research found, as reported by HealthDay.
Comprehensive Study
“Our study offers the strongest evidence to show that processed meat and red meat increases your chances of developing type two diabetes in the future,” declared senior researcher Nita Forouhi, a program head in nutritional epidemiology at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
To make this conclusion, investigators reviewed patient-level data for about 2 million participants across 31 studies in 20 countries.
The research also revealed that people who frequently consume chicken, turkey, or duck had an 8% higher likelihood of contracting diabetes.
However, this association reduced as more confounding factors were controlled for, while a positive relationship of the condition to red or unprocessed meat was identified by researchers, they said.
Further Investigation
The study “ supports recommendations to limit the intake of processed meat and unprocessed red meat in an effort to reduce the effect of type two diabetes in population”, Forouhi said in a news release in Cambridge, as reported by HealthDay.
“While our findings provide more comprehensive evidence on the association between poultry consumption and type 2 diabetes than was previously available, the link remains uncertain and needs to be investigated further,” Forouhi added.