Poor nutrition leads to development of chronic diseases

International research involving the University of Adelaide has shown for the first time that poor nutrition - including a lack of fruit, vegetables and whole grains - is associated with the development of multiple chronic diseases over time. 

The results of the study, which looked at health, diet and lifestyle data of more than 1000 Chinese people over a five-year period, are published in this month's issue of the journal Clinical Nutrition. "Risk factors such as smoking, lack of physical activity and nutrition are already known to be linked to the development of chronic disease. But this is the first time research has shown that nutrition itself is directly associated with the development of multiple chronic diseases over time," says study co-author Dr Zumin Shi, from the University of Adelaide's School of Medicine. 

You can read the abstract here; Clinical Nutrition Volume 33, Issue 3, June 2014, Pages 513–520 and ask your library for access to full text.