Based on a Variety Of Studies, Researchers Try to List What is and is not good for An Organism
In a bold premise to rate what’s best for your health with a five-star rating, a new set of studies attempts to shed light on the complex and contradictory health patterns that link certain diets, behaviors, and conditions. specific disease.
The analyses, conducted by researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine, are published in the journal Nature Medicine. It investigated the relationship between 180 pairs of health risks and consequences, such as smoking, lung cancer, a low-vegetable diet, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and ischemic disease. The results were then ranked on a star rating. The more stars, the greater the chance of a relationship.
“There has been extensive research on the links between various risks and health outcomes, but the results are often very different between studies,” explained Christopher Murray, director of the IHME Institute and lead author of the study. “One of the goals of this new rating system is to eliminate confusion and help consumers make informed decisions about diet, exercise and other activities that can affect their long-term health.”
In many areas, the research group found that the relationship between risk factor and health damage was weaker than some might think. Nearly two-thirds of the risk-outcome pairs examined (112 of 180) received only one or two stars. These include widely touted pairings such as a diet rich in unprocessed red meat and the hit of a star.
The analysis takes into account both the magnitude of the risks shown by the studies to date and the consistency of the results between these studies. The researchers said the star ratings are based on the “most conservative” interpretation of the available evidence, to reduce the impact of error or bias in the underlying data.
Eight risk-outcome pairs received a five-star rating, including smoking, lung cancer, hypertension, and ischemic heart disease. You can find a list of stellar ratings, including the data visualization tool, on the IHME website. Based on the landmark Global Burden of Disease study, which turns 30 this year, additional star ratings will be added in the near future, as will the ratings, as a result of ever-evolving research.
