Nearly 11% of U.S. households experienced difficulty accessing food in 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
With limited food options, food-insecure people tend to eat more red and processed meats.
In a new study from Penn State, researchers found a link between diets high in red and processed meats, food insecurity and increased risk of high blood pressure.
Red and processed meats are high in saturated fats, cholesterol and sodium, which can lead to hypertension and other forms of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
In the study, the team analyzed diets of more than 31,000 U.S. adults. Nearly half of those surveyed (48.5%) had high blood pressure.
Individuals answered questions about whether they had challenges in accessing adequate food during the past year.
The team found that those who ate more red or processed meat were more likely to have high blood pressure.
They found participants, regardless of food security level, who recorded the largest intake of red meat were 29% to 39% more likely to have high blood pressure.
Food insecure individuals, who had recorded higher levels of red meat intake, had a stronger likelihood of having high blood pressure.
Those who faced food insecurities and consumed larger amounts of processed meat had 36–50% higher odds of having hypertension compared to food-secure individuals who ate less processed meat.
This study provides more evidence about the health hazards of eating red and processed meats in relation to hypertension and calls for increasing public awareness to limit intake, especially among those who are food insecure.
The research also showed that substituting plant-based foods for red and processed meats could help prevent hypertension.
The study is published in Journal of Hypertension and was conducted by Laila Al-Shaar et al.
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