Poor diet linked to heart disease, but Australia has seen improvements in the last 30 years

A poor diet remains a leading contributor to ischemic heart disease, according to an analysis from 204 countries over a 30-year period, published in Nature Medicine. The authors estimate that suboptimal diet associated with this disease was responsible for more than 4 million ischemic heart disease related deaths and almost 97 million total disability-adjusted life years were lost in 2023. The findings could improve understanding of how specific diets influence ischemic heart disease patterns and support nutrition-focused strategies to reduce health impacts.