Study: Meat and Sugar Contribute Equally to Obesity

The consumption of meat in modern diets may play a role that is equal to sugar in contributing to obesity around the world, according to a new study.

Using published comparable data about sugar and meat, researchers from the University of Adelaide's School of Medicine in Australia sought to determine if meat and sugar both factor into obesity prevalence to the same extent, noting that while the general public has been educated that sugar intake should be minimized to avoid obesity, "no such recommendation regarding meat exists."
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For this study, the authors obtained country-specific body mass index (BMI) estimates of obesity and overweight individuals. The investigators then matched these estimates with country-specific per capita per day availability of major food groups (meat, sugar, starch crops, fibers, fats, and fruits), total calories,

gross domestic product per capita based on purchasing power parity (GDP PPP), urbanization, and physical inactivity prevalence. The researchers performed correlation analysis and regression analysis on the data.

Overall, sugar and meat availability significantly correlated with obesity prevalence to the same extent, according to the authors, who noted that these relationships remained in partial correlation analysis when controlling for calories availability, physical inactivity, urbanization, and GDP PPP. Correlation analysis results revealed no significant difference in Pearson correlation coefficients and revealed partial correlation coefficients between sugar and meat availability with obesity prevalence.

“Sugar and meat availability comparably contribute to global obesity prevalence," the authors wrote. “Dietary guidelines should also advocate to minimize meat consumption to avoid obesity," they added.

—Mark McGraw

Reference

You W, Henneberg M. Meat in modern diet, just as bad as sugar, correlates with worldwide obesity: an ecological analysis [published online June 2, 2016]. J Nutr Food Sci. doi:10.4172/2155-9600.1000517.