Comparison of life expectancy gains from sustained changes from typical dietary patterns in seven countries to longevity-optimized, vegetarian, or feasible dietary patterns

Abstract:

Healthy eating is associated with a range of favorable health outcomes. We have previously published the Food4HealthyLife model that estimated the impact of dietary changes on life expectancy gains, but did not consider height, weight, or physical activity. The objective of this work was to estimate the life expectancy gains from the transition from typical national dietary patterns to longevity-optimizing dietary changes, more feasible dietary modifications, and optimized vegan dietary changes for China, France, Germany, Iran, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Our modeling study used data from meta-analyses presenting dose-response relationships between intake of fifteen food groups and mortality. Background mortality data were from the Global Burden of Disease study. We used national food intake data and adjusted for height, weight, and physical activity level.

Our results indicated that for 40-year-olds, estimated life expectancy gains ranged from 6.2 years (with uncertainty intervals 5.7;7.5) for Chinese females to 9.7 years (8.1;11.3) for US males following sustained changes from typical country-specific dietary patterns to longevity-optimized dietary changes, and from 5.2 years (4.0;6.5) for Chinese females to 8.7 years (7.1;10.3) for US males following changes to an optimized vegan dietary changes.

In conclusion, a sustained change from country-specific typical dietary pattern patterns to longevity-optimized dietary changes, more feasible dietary changes, or optimized vegan dietary changes, were all projected to result in substantial life expectancy gains across ages and countries. These changes included more whole grains, legumes, and nuts, and less red/processed meats and sugars and sugar-sweetened beverages. The largest gains from dietary changes would be in the United States.

Audience Take Away:

• The presentation will present a model for life expectancy gains from sustained change in dietary intake using data from meta-analyses, from the Global Burden of Disease study, and life-table methodology, together with population data on eating patterns, while adjusting for height, weight, and activity level.
• The presentation will show contribution from different food groups in life expectancy gains.
• It also enables understanding the potential impact on life expectancy of sustained changes in intake of specific food groups. This could guide decision making by clinicians and policymakers.

Biography:

Lars T. Fadnes is a professor at Department of Global Public Health and Primary at the University of Bergen and research group leader at Haukeland university hospital. He is a medical doctor and is a specialist in general practice as well as having a diploma in tropical medicine and hygiene. Fadnes has worked with research on dietary patterns and associations with chronic diseases and has had substantial international collaboration with researchers from the United Kingdom, Uganda, South Africa, Italy, Australia, the United States, with external funding from the Research Council of Norway, the Western Norway Regional Health Authority and DAM. His research spans across several themes, mostly focusing on nutrition and associations to chronic diseases, substance use and migration. Fadnes has more than a hundred scientific publications published in international peer-reviewed journals, as well as being covered in many hundred newspaper stories. He has also been central in development of guidelines both nationally and internationally relating to both nutrition and treatment of people with substance use. He is part of the Norwegian national advisory panel on nutrition (Nasjonalt råd for ernæring) and the Norwegian scientific committee for food and environment (VKM). He has received awards for research and innovation including the Meltzer award for excellence in the dissemination of research (2022), Young researcher award for health research in Western Norway 2021, Falch junior award for medical research 2021, and prize for research and innovation 2020 (Kunnskapskommunene), and has several articles on the Altmetric top rank list. He is the leader of HEMIX research group and Bergen Addiction Research, is co-founder of the Norwegian competence centre for substitution therapy (NORCATS), has supervised/is supervising >15 candidates (including 7 who has completed and 6 as main supervisor).