The Study
Fruit and vegetable consumption and mortality: European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition.
This study looked at a lot of people over many years and found that those who ate more fruits and veggies tended to live longer. But it didn’t make people change their diets — it just watched what they already did. So we can’t say eating more fruits and veggies made them live longer — maybe they also exercised more or didn’t smoke.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
Scientists tracked hundreds of thousands of people in Europe to see if eating more fruits and vegetables made them live longer.
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 547 / 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 — even a small increase in fruit and veggie intake was linked to living over a year longer on average and preventing thousands of deaths across the population.
- 2People who ate the most fruits and veggies had a 10% lower chance of dying from any cause and a 15% lower chance of dying from heart disease.
- 3If everyone ate one more serving per day, about 3% of deaths could be prevented.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
American journal of epidemiology
Year
2013
Authors
M. Leenders, I. Sluijs, M. Ros, H. Boshuizen, P. Siersema, P. Ferrari, C. Weikert, A. Tjønneland, A. Olsen, M. Boutron‐Ruault, F. Clavel-Chapelon, Laura Nailler, B. Teucher, Kuanrong Li, H. Boeing, M. Bergmann, A. Trichopoulou, P. Lagiou, D. Trichopoulos, D. Palli, V. Pala, S. Panico, R. Tumino, C. Sacerdote, P. Peeters, C. V. van Gils, E. Lund, D. Engeset, M. Redondo, A. Agudo, M. Sanchez, C. Navarro, E. Ardanaz, E. Sonestedt, U. Ericson, L. Nilsson, K. Khaw, N. Wareham, T. Key, F. Crowe, I. Romieu, M. Gunter, V. Gallo, K. Overvad, E. Riboli, H. Bueno‐de‐Mesquita
Related Content
Claims (3)
Populations that consume more fruits and vegetables have a 2.95% lower rate of death from all causes compared to those with lower intake.
Adults who eat more fruits and vegetables have a 10% lower risk of dying from any cause compared to those who eat less, with the greatest benefit seen in those with the highest intake.
People who eat more fruits and vegetables have a 15% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to those who eat the least, based on observed differences in intake levels.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.