What happens if people eat less meat?
Estimated effects of reductions in processed meat consumption and unprocessed red meat consumption on occurrences of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer, and mortality in the USA: a microsimulation study.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Reducing unprocessed red meat had a larger projected impact on type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease than reducing processed meat.
Many assume processed meat is the biggest dietary villain, but the model suggests cutting regular red meat (like beef or pork) could prevent more diabetes and heart events — 732,600 vs. 352,900 diabetes cases avoided with 30% reduction.
Practical Takeaways
Consider reducing your red and processed meat intake by about one-third — for example, swapping one meat-based meal per week for a plant-based alternative.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Reducing unprocessed red meat had a larger projected impact on type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease than reducing processed meat.
Many assume processed meat is the biggest dietary villain, but the model suggests cutting regular red meat (like beef or pork) could prevent more diabetes and heart events — 732,600 vs. 352,900 diabetes cases avoided with 30% reduction.
Practical Takeaways
Consider reducing your red and processed meat intake by about one-third — for example, swapping one meat-based meal per week for a plant-based alternative.
Publication
Journal
The Lancet. Planetary health
Year
2024
Authors
Joe Kennedy, Peter Alexander, L. S. Taillie, Lindsay M. Jaacks
Related Content
Claims (4)
Regular red meat, like steak or roast, isn't the same as processed stuff like bacon or hot dogs — they're made differently and might affect your health in different ways, so experts say we shouldn't treat them the same when studying their health effects.
If adults in the U.S. ate 30% less red meat like beef or pork, computer models predict we could avoid hundreds of thousands of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer cases—and save tens of thousands of lives—over 10 years.
If most adults in the U.S. ate 30% less red and processed meat, models predict we could avoid over a million diabetes cases, hundreds of thousands of heart problems, and tens of thousands of cancers and deaths in 10 years.
If adults in the U.S. ate 30% less processed meat like bacon and hot dogs, we could prevent hundreds of thousands of health problems — including diabetes, heart issues, cancer, and deaths — over the next 10 years.