The analysis, in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, exterior journal, has an inevitable limitation – it can not show meat causes diabetes, as a result of it’s inconceivable to low cost the opposite attainable danger components, comparable to different meals individuals within the examine ate and the approach to life they led.
Dr Duane Mellor, of the British Dietetic Affiliation, stated: “The authors did attempt to management for different danger components related to elevated danger of creating sort 2 diabetes, together with having the next physique weight, smoking, alcohol, low vegetable consumption.”
However lacking information meant they might not account for the impact of household historical past, insulin resistance or waist circumference, that are extra strongly related to diabetes.
“So it’s attainable that the elevated danger related to processed and crimson meat consumption may very well be a results of these different confounding components,” Dr Mellor stated.
Research comparable to this additionally depend on contributors telling the reality and precisely recalling what they eat.
Does that imply the findings needs to be solely dismissed?
No. It provides to a rising image of what meals – and the way a lot – is perhaps good or dangerous for us.
