Study Shows that West Africans have the Healthiest Diets in the World

[stargazer]

People in Mali, Chad, Senegal and Sierra Leone enjoy healthier diets than their counterparts in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan or Canada, according to a study published in The Lancet Global Health this spring.

 

Using self-reported diet surveys from 187 countries that are home to 89% of the world’s adult population, researchers led by Fumiaki Imamura from the University of Cambridge analyzed the intake of healthy foods such as fruit, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and fish, as well as foods containing fiber and omega-3s. They also looked at the consumption of unhealthy foods such as sugary drinks, saturated fats, sodium, and processed meats.

 

 

Taken all together, Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly West Africa, ranked better than wealthier regions in North America and Europe, probably because of a diet comprised of lean meats, vegetables, legumes, and staple starches, with less processed foods than countries that fared worse (such as the US and Russia):

 

There’s one important caveat. The study examines only nutrition—the quality of diet—and does not speak to the quantity of food consumed. It assumes that all adults surveyed are consuming 2,000 calories a day. The prevalence of malnourishment in Sub-Saharan Africa was around 24% (pdf, p. 8) in 2012, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.

 

 

“Looking at just diet quality is not perfect, we know,†Imamura told Quartz. “For better public health, we should all look at any social and environmental factors. But, we found little global-health research on diet quality based on what people actually eat. So, we decided to fill the piece of many existing issues.â€

 

 

The main conclusion of the study is that in much of the world, eating habits are getting worse. Worldwide consumption of healthy foods increased, but in high-income countries that was often outpaced by the growing intake of unhealthy foods, the study found.

 

These eating habits contribute to the non-communicable diseases—cancer, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory illnesses—that are expected to account for 73% of all deaths by 2020. That’s a reality that is already being felt in the developing world, including some parts of Africa, as people settle into more sedentary, urban lifestyles, and obesity rates rise.

source

[ErikaEGO]

I really want to eat healthy, but I can't cook even if my life depended on it 

 

[*lesigh*]

Well, this does make perfect sense.

[dishdash]

Well, this does make perfect sense.

[sane]

The sad thing is that that's actually a really unhealthy diet, but of course we're still playing pretend that our diets should be plant based and as devoid of fat as possible. How many billions of people have to suffer before we as a species admit our mistakes?

[♥SNS-Shinomiya♥]

Have you seen the food they eat, cramming the whole food pyramid in a few meals

[Joji.]

LOL please, I'm West African and our diet ain't all that healthy. 

[mgl]

Not surprising. Having less access to a wide array of cheap processed and fast foods likely forces them to eat foods from natural sources and cook their own meals. You can bet that if all of a sudden they had access to it like we have in Europe and the US, things would change dramatically within a few years, like it happened with many other countries.

 

 

All we need is better education on the health benefits of certain foods and how to save by buying and cooking healthy.

[stargazer]

Well, this does make perfect sense.

I'm not surprised by it either

 

My family is from West Africa but not from the four countries mentioned above and when I a go there to visit I see it. Most of the foods that people there eat is organic and fresh and there isn't as much fat content. Various spices are used to flavour the food instead of just fat, sugar and salt. I usually end up eating a whole lot more food when I visit there than I usually do because I find it more delicious but I always find that I've actually lost weight by the end of it and my skin feels clearer and my hair more shiny and healthy.

 

I hardly know anyone from my family who has diabetes, or any type of allergy and many other diseases that are prevalent in the west and the rate of cancer is lower than other places in the world. If the governments in Africa weren't so crappy, they would probably have one of the highest life expectancy rates on the planet. The problem is that if you do end up getting any of these diseases, you are screwed because the health system sucks balls :(

[boo!]

I didn't know eating boiled animal blood and dirt clots was healthy but OK.

[borahoney]

I didn't know eating boiled animal blood and dirt clots was healthy but OK.

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." MLK.

[ErikaEGO]

I'm not surprised by it either

 

My family is from West Africa but not from the four countries mentioned above and when I a go there to visit I see it. Most of the foods that people there eat is organic and fresh and there isn't as much fat content. Various spices are used to flavour the food instead of just fat, sugar and salt. I usually end up eating a whole lot more food when I visit there than I usually do because I find it more delicious but I always find that I've actually lost weight by the end of it and my skin feels clearer and my hair more shiny and healthy.

 

I hardly know anyone from my family who has diabetes, or any type of allergy and many other diseases that are prevalent in the west and the rate of cancer is lower than other places in the world. If the governments in Africa weren't so crappy, they would probably have one of the highest life expectancy rates on the planet. The problem is that if you do end up getting any of these diseases, you are screwed because the health system sucks balls :(

 

I need to move there