It's the world's deadliest health risk.
We all enjoy munching on some ~*bad*~ food, whether it's a burger, fried chicken, cake or doughnuts. However, we have to aim to eat them in moderation as it has been revealed that eating a bad diet is actually worse than smoking and causes more deaths each year.
130 scientists compared dietary habits to rates of death and disease in 195 countries and found that a bad diet claims more lives to smoking because it can cause heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
The researchers found that in 2017, eating unhealthily caused 11 million deaths, whereas smoking caused 8 million worldwide.
The main threats were diets that had a low intake of whole grains and fruits, and a high consumption of sodium. Diets that contained large amounts of red meat, processed foods and sweetened drinks were also found to be the worst.
Lead scientist Dr Ashkan Afshin, from the
University of Washington, US, said: "Poor diet is an equal opportunity killer. We are what we eat and risks affect people across a range of demographics, including age, gender, and economic status.
"We are highlighting the importance of low consumption of healthy foods as compared to the greater consumption of unhealthy foods.
"Dietary policies focusing on promoting healthy eating can have a more beneficial effect than policies advocating against unhealthy foods."
