RESEARCHERS HAVE revealed that a typical western diet, which is high in fat, salt and meat, accounts for around 30 per cent of heart attack risk in any population.
Having analysed the diet of 16,000 people in 52 countries and identified three global eating patterns, the study, published in Circulation journal, reports that heart risk could be reduced by a third if people changed their diets to include more fresh fruit and vegetables.
Researchers created a dietary risk score questionnaire based on 19 food groups and then asked 5,561 heart attack patients and 10,646 people with known heart disease to fill out their survey.
The results showed that people who ate a Western diet had a 35 per cent greater risk of having a heart attack than those who ate little or no fried foods and meat.
The survey results also showed that no difference was made to heart attack risk for people who ate an Oriental diet, high in tofu, soy and other sauces.
