CBS News: Unhealthy diets now kill more people than tobacco and high blood pressure, study finds
“Poor diet is associated with 1 in 5 deaths worldwide, according to a new, large study. That’s equivalent to 11 million deaths a year, making unhealthy eating habits responsible for more deaths than tobacco and high blood pressure…” (Welch, 4/3).

CNN: What we aren’t eating is killing us, global study finds
“…The large study size means these findings are relevant to everyone, no matter where they live, said Andrew Reynolds, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Otago in New Zealand, who was not involved in the study. ‘The findings of the paper will inform policy decisions that shape what food is available in Western countries, how it is marketed and potentially what it costs in the coming years,’ Reynolds said…” (LaMotte, 4/3).

International Business Times: Poor Diet Causes More Deaths Than Smoking, Study Reveals
“…The study published in the journal The Lancet followed trends in the utilization of 15 dietary foods from 1990 to 2017 of 195 nations. These included diets low in foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, fatty acid, milk, and seeds, fiber, calcium, fish omega-3 fats, [and] polyunsaturated fats. Diets high in sugar-sweetened sodas, red meat, proceed meat, and sodium were also included in the study…” (Choudry, 4/4).

New York Times: Eat Your Veggies: Study Finds Poor Diets Linked to One in Five Deaths
“…The study … concluded that one-fifth of deaths around the world were associated with poor diets — defined as those short on fresh vegetables, seeds and nuts but heavy in sugar, salt and trans fats. In 2017, that came to 11 million deaths that could have been avoided, the researchers said. Most of those, around 10 million, were from cardiovascular disease, researchers found. The next biggest diet-related killers were cancer, with 913,000 deaths, and Type 2 diabetes, which claimed 339,000 lives…” (Jacobs, 4/3).

NPR: Bad Diets Are Responsible For More Deaths Than Smoking, Global Study Finds
“…Which countries do best when it comes to diet? Israel, France, Spain, and Japan were among the countries with the lowest rates of diet-related disease. The U.S ranked 43rd, and China ranked 140th. It should be noted that there were data gaps for intake of key foods in some countries, so some estimates could be off…” (Aubrey, 4/3).

TIME: Poor Diets Are Linked to 20% of All Deaths Worldwide, Study Says. But These Foods Could Help
“… ‘Diet is an equal-opportunity killer. People — independent of age, gender, country of residence, and socioeconomic status — to some extent are affected by poor dietary habits,’ says study co-author Dr. Ashkan Afshin, an assistant professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. ‘Low intake of healthy foods and high intake of unhealthy foods is the leading cause of mortality, globally and in many countries’…” (Ducharme, 4/3).