02 Apr Increasing Fruit and Vegetables in Diet Decreases Risk of Early Death
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr Oyinlola Oyebode
Specialist Registrar in Public Health
Dept of Epidemiology & Public Health
University College London
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Oyebode: We found that the more fruit and vegetables consumed, the lower the risk of death from any cause, from cancer or from heart disease or stroke. We found that vegetables were better than fruit at equivalent amounts.
MedicalResearch.com: Were any of the findings unexpected?
Dr. Oyebode: The size of the effect was larger than we had predicted.
MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Dr. Oyebode: However many portions of fruit and vegetables you are eating now, eat more to reduce your risk of an early death. Clinicians may wish to encourage their patients to increase their fruit and vegetable intake as part of a healthy diet.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Dr. Oyebode: We want to know more about the health benefits of different types of fruit and vegetables. Further research on how to encourage people to eat more fruit and vegetables would also be useful.
Citation:
Oyinlola Oyebode, Vanessa Gordon-Dseagu, Alice Walker, Jennifer S Mindell
Last Updated on April 2, 2014 by Marie Benz MD FAAD