Clear answer: gain in lifetime and quality of life! True, “healthy” is also a trend in the food industry. However, a healthy diet – like a healthy lifestyle in general – is too time-consuming for many people. To this one can clearly say: Above all being ill is time-consuming, furthermore painful and expensive; it lowers the quality of life and shortens life! Nutrition plays a role in two out of three deaths, according to the German Society for Nutrition in its 2004 nutrition report. In Germany, cardiovascular diseases and malignant tumors have been the most frequent causes of death by far for years. Changes in diet can positively influence the occurrence and development of these diseases.
Obesity
A calculation for the European Union has shown that at least one in 13 deaths can be linked to overweight or obesity (morbid obesity). Converted to the total number of deaths in 2004, this would be 62,943 deaths for Germany alone. The increased mortality is reflected in a shorter life expectancy: according to data from the Framingham Heart Study, overweight women without pre-existing conditions die 3.1 years of life earlier from the age of 40 than women of normal weight. For men, it’s 2.6 years. Women with obesity live an average of even 7.0 years shorter, and obese men 6.9 years.
“Deadly Quartet”
Many years of life are also lost in type 2 diabetes mellitus, which is primarily caused by a poor diet, due to the many secondary diseases and serious late effects. A study from Canada determined that the life expectancy of diabetics is 12 years lower than that of people without this metabolic disorder. Obesity, high blood pressure, elevated blood glucose and blood fat levels are closely related and, when they occur together, are referred to as metabolic syndrome or the “deadly quartet.” The resulting causes of death are, for example, heart attacks and strokes. High blood pressure (hypertension) is particularly important as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 20 percent of deaths in developed countries are due to high blood pressure levels. Excessive cholesterol levels follow in second place among diet-related risk factors. Again, both factors are directly related to an unhealthy diet: too many calories, too many fats, too much table salt.
Osteoporosis
A completely underestimated cause of death in Germany is osteoporosis. To be sure, this most common bone disease almost never appears on a death certificate. But experts estimate that it is the cause of 80 to 90 percent of all femoral neck and vertebral body fractures in women over the age of 65. And fractures near the hip joint have a mortality risk of about 20 to 25 percent in the first six months.
Again, much can be achieved through diet – especially at a young age: A diet rich in calcium, potassium, vitamin D and vitamin C counteracts the development of osteoporosis.
Clear balance of these figures
It pays to invest time in a healthy diet – as in a healthy lifestyle in general! After all, who wants to die earlier or be sick for quite a few more years? Heike Brinkmann-Reitz, Ernährungsexpertin with the German Green Cross registered association. (DGK), therefore recommends: “It’s best to start right away with small changes, for example a crisp salad instead of the bratwurst and take the stairs instead of the elevator!” Source: Kroke, A., Walz, A.: Mortality from diet-related chronic diseases. In: DGE (ed.): Ernährungsbericht 2004. Bonn 2004, pp. 94-115.
