Red Meat and Health: Evidence Regarding Red Meat, Health, and Chronic Disease Risk

Background

Chronic diseases including heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes, are the leading causes of mortality, contributing to 60% of all deaths worldwide (WHO, 2014b). Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death with an estimated 17.3 million people dying from CVD in 2008 (30% of all deaths worldwide) a figure that is expected to increase to 23.3 million by 2030 (WHO, 2014b). Of these deaths, the majority were due to coronary heart disease (CHD) (7.3 million) and stroke (6.2 million). Diabetes currently affects an estimated 347 million people worldwide and in 2012 was the direct cause of 1.5 million deaths (WHO, 2014c). The World Health Organisation (WHO) projects that diabetes will be the 7^th leading cause of death in 2030. Cancer is also a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 8.2 million deaths in 2012, with lung, liver, stomach, colorectal and breast cancers causing the most cancer deaths each year (WHO, 2014a). The WHO estimates that annual cancer cases will rise from 14 million in 2012 to 22 million within the next two decades (WHO, 2014a).