Eating meat, especially processed meat and unprocessed red meat – even as little as two slices of ham a day – is associated with a higher risk of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, research has argued.
The analysis of data from almost two million participants has supported recommendations to limit the consumption of processed meat and unprocessed red meat to reduce soaring rates of the condition.
The research published in journal The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology aimed to follow on from previous research that has indicated higher intakes of processed meat and unprocessed red meat are associated with an elevated risk of type 2 diabetes. However, the results had been variable and not conclusive.
More than 400 million people globally have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Research from the charity Diabetes UK in May warned there has been a 40% rise in diagnoses of type 2 diabetes among younger people since 2016-17.
Poultry such as chicken, turkey, or duck is often considered to be an alternative to processed meat or unprocessed red meat, but fewer studies have examined the association between poultry consumption and type 2 diabetes.
To determine the association between consumption of processed meat, unprocessed red meat and poultry and type 2 diabetes, the team, led by researchers at the University of Cambridge, used the global InterConnect project to analyse data from 31 study cohorts in 20 countries.
The analysis took into account factors such as age, gender, health-related behaviours, energy intake and body mass index.
The researchers found that the habitual consumption of just 50 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent of two slices of ham, is associated with a 15% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the next 10 years.
The consumption of 100 grams of unprocessed red meat a day, or equivalent to a small steak, was associated with a 10% higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
Habitual consumption of 100 grams of poultry a day was associated with an 8% higher risk. However, when further analyses were conducted to test the findings under different scenarios, the association for poultry consumption became weaker, whereas the associations with type 2 diabetes for each of processed meat and unprocessed meat persisted.
Professor Nita Forouhi of the Medical Research Council s Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge and a senior author on the paper, said: Our research provides the most comprehensive evidence to date of an association between eating processed meat and unprocessed red meat and a higher future risk of type 2 diabetes. It supports recommendations to limit the consumption of processed meat and unprocessed red meat to reduce type 2 diabetes cases in the population.
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, the research team concluded.
Separately, doctors have warned that the UK s cancer care now lags behind other countries and, unless the government prioritises a cancer plan more patients will undoubtedly die” from the disease .
Countries such as Denmark, France and Norway have consistent plans regarding the disease, yet the UK does not have a National Cancer Control Plan.
A commentary article led by oncologist Professor Mark Lawler in the journal The Lancet Oncology has called for commitment to the redevelopment and publication of a long-term strategy for cancer which has innovation at its core.
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