Life expectancy gains from dietary modifications: a comparative modeling study in 7 countries.

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Science
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Healthy eating is linked to improved health outcomes.
• Previous models estimated dietary impact on life expectancy but excluded factors like height, weight, and physical activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate life expectancy increases from shifting typical diets to longevity-optimizing, feasible, or vegan diets.
• To analyze these dietary shifts across China, France, Germany, Iran, Norway, the UK, and the US.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a modeling study incorporating meta-analyses on 15 food groups and mortality.
• Incorporated Global Burden of Disease Study mortality data.
• Adjusted dietary impact estimations for height, weight, and physical activity.

Main Results:

• For 40-year-olds, longevity-optimized diets could add 6.2 to 9.7 years to life expectancy.
• Optimized vegan diets could add 5.2 to 8.7 years to life expectancy.
• Largest life expectancy gains were projected for the United States.

Conclusions:

• Sustained shifts to longevity-optimized, feasible, or vegan diets yield substantial life expectancy gains.
• Recommended dietary changes include increased whole grains, legumes, nuts, and reduced red/processed meats and sugars.
• Dietary pattern changes offer significant public health benefits globally.