The research builds on previous findings connecting red and processed meats with Type 2 diabetes.
For sausage, salami and steak lovers, the news has not been good. Scientists have been consistently finding links between red and processed meat consumption and heart disease, some types of cancer and earlier death.
And now, two recent studies have added to the growing body of evidence that a meat-heavy diet may increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes.
In one of the studies, published today in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, researchers analyzed data from nearly two million adults participating in 31 studies across 20 countries, including the United States and parts of Europe and Asia.
The researchers reviewed survey data on participants’ diets and then looked at their health an average of 10 years later. After adjusting for other risk factors like smoking, a higher body mass index, physical inactivity and a family history of diabetes, they found that for every 1.8 ounces of processed meat the participants ate each day, their risk for Type 2 diabetes increased by 15 percent. (This is equivalent to a medium-sized sausage or two to three slices of bacon.) For every 3.5 ounces of unprocessed red meat they consumed daily, their risk increased by 10 percent. (This is about the size of a small steak.)
The data also suggested that one serving of poultry per day was associated with an 8 percent increase in Type 2 diabetes risk, but this finding was less consistent and only significant in the European studies, so more research is needed, said Dr. Nita Forouhi, a professor of population health and nutrition at the University of Cambridge who led the study.
The takeaway, she said, is that the less red and processed meat you eat, the better.
Why Eating Meat Might Increase Your Risk
These findings jibe with previous research, including a large U.S. study published in October.