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• Refined carbohydrates (white bread and pastries), fried foods, soda, red meat, processed meats, margarine, shortening, and lard increase inflammation in the body.
• Higher-income countries exhibit better scores for healthy dietary components, such as fruit and whole grains, but worse scores for unhealthy components, such as red/processed meats and sodium, compared to lower-income countries.
• The Western diet is a contemporary eating pattern characterized by a high intake of processed foods, refined grains, red and processed meats, sugary drinks, sweets, fried meals, conventionally produced animal products, high-fat dairy, and high-fructose foods.
• Higher education was generally linked to greater consumption of fruits, non-starchy vegetables, whole grains, and plant oils, but not always to lower consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and red/processed meat.
• The consumption of red and processed meat, which are key features of the Western diet, is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer.
• To improve population health, policy measures should support increased intake of health-promoting foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts/seeds, while reducing the intake of unhealthy foods such as red meat, processed meat, and sugary beverages.
• Globally, between 1990 and 2018, AHEI scores increased for non-starchy vegetables (+1.1), legumes/nuts (+1.1), and fruit (+0.1); decreased for red/processed meat (−1.4), sugar-sweetened beverages (−0.6), and sodium (−0.4); and remained stable for whole grains (+0.1), PUFAs (0), and seafood omega-3 (0).
• Globally, more educated individuals had lower AHEI scores (less favorable consumption levels) for red/processed meat (-0.6), sugar-sweetened beverages (-0.6), and nuts and legumes (-0.1).
• Diets globally continue to lack sufficient amounts of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains, while including excessive and sometimes rising amounts of red meat, processed meat, and sugary drinks.
• Risks related to dietary composition in the 2021 Global Nutrition Report analysis included low intake of fruits (2.8 million deaths), whole grains (2.3 million), vegetables (1.7 million), legumes (1.5 million), nuts and seeds (1.0 million), and high intake of red meat (980,000), processed meat (880,000), and sugar-sweetened beverages (290,000).
• Across the world's 25 most populous countries in 2018, there was a 100-fold difference in sodium scores, a 90-fold difference in red/processed meat scores, and a 23-fold difference in sugar-sweetened beverage scores.
• In 2018, the highest global AHEI component scores for unhealthier items (indicating lowest or most favourable intakes) were for sugar-sweetened beverages (5.8) and red/processed meat (4.8).
• Suboptimal diets are characterized by low intake of fibers, fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, milk, seafood, calcium, and healthy fats (omega-3 fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids) and high intake of trans-fatty acids, sodium, red or processed meat, and sugar-sweetened beverages, according to Afshin et al. (2019).
• In high-income countries, Central/Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Northern Africa, improvements in dietary quality driven by increased intake of fruit, non-starchy vegetables, legumes/nuts, and whole grains have been offset by stable or only minor reductions in red/processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), and sodium.
• Consuming trans fats, saturated fats, omega-6 fats, refined carbohydrates, foods with excess sugar, alcohol, red meats, and processed meats can increase inflammation and contribute to chronic inflammation over time.
• South Asia exhibits relatively high diet diversity due to high consumption of whole grains and low intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and red/processed meat.
• A healthy diet consists of plenty of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and oils high in unsaturated fats, while containing little to no red and processed meat, sugar-sweetened beverages, refined grains, and oils high in saturated fats.
• Foods that can increase inflammation include trans fats, saturated fats, omega-6 fats, refined carbohydrates, foods with excess sugar, alcohol, red and processed meats, and excessive consumption of any macronutrient.
• Red meat and processed meats are identified as the primary dietary contributors to the risk of colorectal cancer.
• Red/processed meat and sodium consumption have significantly increased over time in Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Imbalanced diets low in fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, and high in red and processed meat are responsible for one of the greatest health burdens globally and in most regions.
• Globally, urban residents had higher AHEI scores for fruit (+0.2) and whole grains (+0.2), but lower scores for sugar-sweetened beverages (-0.5), red/processed meat (-0.4), and legumes/nuts (-0.1).
• The EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems established specific dietary recommendations for minimum intake of health-promoting foods (fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, whole grains) and maximum intake of foods with detrimental health or environmental impacts (red meat, processed meat, dairy, fish).
• Global intake of red meat and processed meat increased by 2-3% between 2010 and 2018.
• The Western pattern diet is a modern dietary pattern originating in the industrialized West, characterized by high intakes of pre-packaged foods, refined grains, red and processed meat, high-sugar drinks, candy, sweets, fried foods, high-fat dairy products, eggs, potato products, and corn products like high-fructose corn syrup.
• Foods categorized as high-inflammatory include red meat, processed meat, refined carbohydrates (such as white bread and white rice), snack foods, desserts, and sweetened beverages like soft drinks.
• A quarter of all deaths among adults globally are attributable to poor diets, defined as diets low in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, and high in red meat, processed meat, and sugary drinks.
• Respondents in North Hessia reported the least frequent intake of meats, including fish, white meats, red meats, and processed meats, compared to the other four CSTs.
• In 2018, the highest dietary pattern scores were identified in low-income countries in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, driven by relatively low consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and red/processed meats.
• Foods that may promote inflammation include red meat, processed meats (such as lunchmeats, sausage, and bacon), store-bought baked goods (such as cakes, pies, brownies, and cupcakes), bread and pasta made from white flour, fried foods, sugar-sweetened drinks, foods with added sugar (such as jam or syrup), and foods with trans fats (such as margarine, microwave popcorn, and nondairy creamer).
• The Global Nutrition Report 2021 analysis includes diet-disease associations for low intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts/seeds, and whole grains, as well as for high intake of red meat, processed meat, and sugary drinks.