Could your Fourth of July cookout lead to an early death? Estimates from the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council show Americans consume some 150 million hot dogs during the holiday weekend.
Now, researchers say that eating any processed meat and other foods leaves Americans at a heightened risk for chronic conditions, including type 2 diabetes, ischemic heart disease, and colorectal cancer. The conditions result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people each year.
“Habitual consumption of even small amounts of processed meat, sugary drinks, and trans fatty acids is linked to increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, ischemic heart disease and colorectal cancer,” Dr. Demewoz Haile, a research scientist at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle, told CNN this week.
Analyzing data from more than 60 previous related studies, the researchers found that eating processed meat – as little as just one hot dog a day – was associated with at least an 11 percent average increase in type 2 diabetes risk and a 7 percent increase in colorectal cancer risk.
Those who drank a sugar-sweetened beverage had an 8 percent average increase in type 2 diabetes risk and a 2 percent increase in ischemic heart disease risk.
The study builds on years of research tying processed foods to higher risks of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. The Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting these foods and drinks, including sodas, hot dogs, and sausages.
Although, researchers say it remains unclear exactly what aspects of processed foods pose potential health risks. It could be due to inflammation, Dr. Minyang Song, an associate professor of clinical epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan Schoo of Public Health, told CNN. He was not involved in the latest study.
Processed meats also often contain chemicals known as nitrates nitrites that serve as a preservative and give the meat its rosy color.
“Nitrates convert to nitrites, and in the stomach’s acidic environment, nitrites interact with certain components concentrated in meat to form N-nitroso compounds, which are potential carcinogens,” according to Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Walter Willett, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, points out that processed meats contain other additives and are high in sodium, which is a risk factor for high blood pressure and heart disease.
Dr. Ashkan Afshin, an assistant professor at the institute who was not a co-author of the new study, previously found that poor diet is responsible for more deaths globally than tobacco, high blood pressure, or any other health risk.
“Poor diet is an equal opportunity killer,” he said in 2019. “We are what we eat and risks affect people across a range of demographics, including age, gender, and economic status.”
Haile was the lead author of the study, which was published on Monday in the journal Nature Medicine.
