Study reveals that eating a ham sandwich a day could increase the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 15%
Currently, 4.3 million people in the UK are living with Type 2 diabetes — numbers having doubled over the past 20 years. Research undertaken by a team from the University of Cambridge, published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology (The Times, 21 August 2024), reveals that eating a ham sandwich a day could increase the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 15%.
The research — a meta-analysis using data from 31 previous studies — concluded that just 50 grams of processed meat (the equivalent to two slices of ham) was sufficient to increase the risk.
For those who remain lunchtime creatures of habit, crumbs of comfort may be found from the researchers’ other findings — that consumption of similar amounts of poultry had minimal effect on diabetes risk once age, gender and health-related behaviors were taken into account.
The University of Cambridge study was said by Professor Forouhi of the Medical Research Council to “provide the most comprehensive evidence to date of the association between processed red meat and Type 2 diabetes”.
For further guidance on the implications of this study, contact our occupational disease solicitors.
