Plant-based diets linked to reduced risk of chronic disease

A large-scale European study has found that a plant-based diet is associated with reduced risk of multimorbidity of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases.

Multimorbidity describes the occurrence of two or more chronic diseases in one person and is a growing health problem worldwide, particularly among adults 60 years and older.

The study, which involved over 400,000 women and men aged 37–70 years from six European countries, investigated dietary habits and disease trajectories. It was conducted by researchers from the University of Vienna in collaboration with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the Kyung Hee University.

The study used data from two large European cohort studies: the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study and UK Biobank. The UK Biobank data revealed that adults with a higher adherence to a plant-based diet had a 32% lower risk of multimorbidity compared to those with a lower adherence.

“You don’t have to cut out animal products entirely,” said study lead and nutritional epidemiologist Reynalda Córdova. “Shifting towards a more plant-based diet can already have a positive impact.”

Lower risk of cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease

A stronger adherence to a healthy plant-based diet was associated with a lower risk of cancer, cardiometabolic disease (diabetes and cardiovascular diseases) and multimorbidity, both in adults under 60 and those over 60.

“Our study highlights that a healthy, plant-based diet not only influences individual chronic diseases but can also reduce the risk of developing multiple chronic diseases at the same time, in both middle-aged and older people,” Córdova said.

Recommended: fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes

A healthy plant-based dietary pattern is considered to include a higher intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and vegan sausages or burgers — and a lower intake of meat and meat products. The study findings suggest that a diet consisting mainly of healthy plant foods and small amounts of animal-based foods can contribute to maintaining health into older age.

The authors concluded that dietary guidelines and public health measures should take into account that a diet mainly composed of plant-based foods with small amounts of animal-based products may help prevent multimorbidity related to cancer and cardiometabolic diseases. Their study has been published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity (DOI: 10.1016/j.lanhl.2025.100742).

Image credit: iStock.com/fcafotodigital