A balanced diet is very important for better health. Fruits also have an important place in such a diet. One study found that in 2023, dietary risk factors—particularly high sodium intake, low fruit intake, and lack of whole grains—were responsible for 5.91 million heart disease deaths. Researchers from Beijing Children’s Hospital in China analyzed data from the *Global Burden of Disease Study 2023* and evaluated 13 risk factors associated with diet over a 33-year period. China had the highest number of deaths from diet-related heart diseases, totaling 13.6 lakh, while India came second with 11.1 lakh such deaths. The analysis, published in the journal *The Innovation: Nutrition*, also revealed that ischemic heart disease and stroke are the main consequences of poor eating habits.
Rising mortality rate: Information received from the Big Data Center of Beijing Children’s Hospital
Guoshuang Feng, a study author from the Big Data Center at Beijing Children’s Hospital, said: “Our findings make it clear that improving dietary quality should be a mainstay of cardiovascular disease prevention worldwide.” Feng added, “Although we are seeing a decline in age-standardized mortality due to advances in healthcare, the *total* number of deaths still remains worrying.”
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“In fact, we are in a race between the world’s aging population—a demographic group that is becoming more vulnerable to the harmful effects of diets high in salt and lacking in essential nutrients.” Researchers said that advances in the medical field have helped reduce the per capita death rate, but the *total* number of people losing their lives continues to increase. The main reason behind this trend is the “top three” list of risk factors related to diet.
Excessive sodium intake: a threat to heart health
The study authors wrote: “Worldwide, high sodium intake remains a major risk for both cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).” A diet lacking in fruits and whole grains is a major risk factor, particularly for ischemic heart disease and stroke. The burden of high sodium intake fell disproportionately on areas with upper-middle and higher SDI (socio-demographic index) levels; Whereas the effect of eating less fruit was more pronounced in areas whose SDI levels were lower-middle and low.
