Does eating ham, bacon and beef really increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes?
The Hindu
Research shows processed meat like ham can increase type 2 diabetes risk, but moderation and healthy lifestyle are key.
That lunchtime staple, the humble ham sandwich, has come in for a bashing in the press recently. According to many reports, eating two slices of ham a day can increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The research offers a more complex picture. A new study from the University of Cambridge highlighted an association between developing type 2 diabetes and eating processed meat like ham and bacon, and red meat such as beef and lamb.
This led to headlines suggesting the risk was mainly linked to ham sandwiches. This seems to have come from the press release, which used ham as the example to quantify the amount of processed meat associated with a 15% increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes over ten years.
The research found that this risk was linked to eating an extra 50g of processed meat every day, which happens to equate to two slices of ham. A useful example thus appears to have been taken up by the media as the main cause, perhaps ignoring some of the key messages coming from the study.
The biggest risk factors linked to developing type 2 diabetes are being over 40, having family members with type 2 diabetes, being of South Asian or African descent, or having a higher body weight – and especially a larger waist.
The Cambridge study used data from nearly 2 million people from 31 studies. Participants were followed for an average of ten years. During this time, around one in 20 people developed type 2 diabetes.
The research suggested that a 10% increase in the probability of developing type 2 diabetes was associated with every 100g of additional red meat eaten daily. Eating half as much extra processed meat every day was linked to an even greater increased risk of developing the disease.
