Somebody might want to tell Joey Chestnut about some recent figures shared by University of Michigan researchers.
A nutritional index recently released by the School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences in the Nature Food journal points out and ranks foods based on minutes gained or lost of “healthy” life per serving, with over 5,800 foods found in the U.S. observed in the index.
The foods, which range from 74 minutes lost to 80 minutes gained, point to hot dogs, burgers, sugary drinks, and others having the most healthy minutes lost. Vegetables, fruits, cooked grains and cereals pointed to the largest time gains. Healthy life gains, in this context, mean an increase in “good-quality and disease-free life expectancy,” as The Conversation reports.
“We use the results to inform marginal dietary substitutions, which are realistic and feasible,” the study’s authors wrote. “We find that small, targeted, food-level substitutions can achieve compelling nutritional benefits and environmental impact reductions.”
The index shares that an 85-gram serving of chicken wings translated to 3.3 minutes of life lost, while a single beef hotdog translated to 36 minutes lost, “largely due to the detrimental effect of processed meat.” Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, however, added 33 minutes, according to the study.
The Health Nutritional Index was created using a 2016 GBD study that looks at harmful health effects linked to certain foods. Foods were also classified by nutritional and environmental impact, with foods linked to high environmental impacts—like emissions—including beef, processed meat, pork and lamb and cheese-based foods, whereas nuts, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and others were looked at positively.
“Previous studies investigating healthy or sustainable diets have often reduced their findings to a discussion of plant-based versus animal-based foods, with the latter stigmatized as the least nutritious and sustainable,” the study reads. “Although we find that plant-based foods generally perform better, there are considerable variations within both plant-based and animal-based foods that should be acknowledged before such generalized inferences are warranted.”
