The Study
Dietary patterns related to total mortality and cancer mortality in the United States
This study looked at what people ate and then watched to see who got sick or died over many years. It found that people who ate more fruits and veggies tended to live longer, and those who ate more junk food tended to die sooner. But it didn’t prove that the food itself caused the difference — maybe the people who ate healthy also exercised more or had better doctors.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
Scientists looked at what people ate and saw who lived longer or died sooner over almost 20 years.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 560 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — eating healthy foods like fruits and veggies adds years to life, while eating lots of processed foods shortens life, but neither changes your chance of dying from cancer.
- 2People who ate lots of fruits and veggies lived 10% longer.
- 3People who ate lots of red meat, sweets, and fried foods died 16–33% more often.
- 4Eating fruits and veggies didn’t lower cancer deaths.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Cancer Causes & Control
Year
2021
Authors
Marcela R. Entwistle, Donald W. Schweizer, Ricardo Cisneros
Related Content
Claims (6)
People who eat cheese do not have lower rates of death from cancer compared to those who eat less cheese.
People who consistently eat more red meat, sweets, pastries, and oils have a 22% higher chance of dying from any cause over nearly 20 years compared to those who eat less of these foods.
People who regularly eat a lot of red meat, sweets, pastries, and oils have a 33% higher chance of dying from cancer over a period of nearly 20 years compared to those who eat less of these foods.
In U.S. adults followed for nearly 20 years, eating more fruits and vegetables did not result in lower rates of death from cancer.
People who consistently eat more fruits, vegetables, and legumes over 20 years have a 10% lower risk of dying from any cause compared to those who eat less of these foods.
People in the U.S. who regularly eat more red meat, legumes, potatoes, and bread have a 16% higher risk of dying from any cause and a 15% higher risk of dying from cancer over nearly 20 years compared to those who eat less of these foods.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.