Summary In 2019, a diet high in red meat was responsible for 23·9 million (95% UI 15·6–32·0) DALYs and 896 000 deaths (536 000–1 250 000). It was the fifth-leading dietary risk factor for attributable DALYs.

Definition Diet high in red meat is defined as any intake (in grams per day) of red meat including beef, pork, lamb, and goat but excluding poultry, fish, eggs, and all processed meats.

Total sources
Exposure 760
Relative risk 92
Table 1: Total sources used in GBD 2019 estimation
What is new in GBD 2019?
  • •To better characterise the dietary intake of red meat at the country level, we used data from FAO supply utilisation accounts in place of data from food balance sheets.
  • •The method of bias adjustment for non-dietary recall surveys was updated using MR-BRT.
  • •We found sufficient evidence supporting the causal relationship of red meat intake with ischaemic heart disease, breast cancer, haemorrhagic stroke, and ischaemic stroke and added these outcomes.
  • •We updated the dose–response curve of relative risk for red meat and all of its outcomes based on the most recent epidemiological evidence and a newly developed method for characterising the risk curve.
  • •The red meat TMREL changed from 22·5 to 0 grams/day.
Deaths
YLLs
YLDs
DALYs
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
2019
Both Sexes
0·896 (0·536
to 1·25)
11·3 (6·8
to 15·9)
19·6 (12·0
to 27·1)
238·4 (145·4
to 329·8)
4·26 (2·76
to 6·02)
51·3 (33·2
to 72·5)
23·9 (15·6
to 32·0)
289·8 (189·0
to 388·9)
Females
0·411 (0·251
to 0·574)
9·4 (5·7
to 13·1)
7·96 (5·04
to 10·8)
183·4 (116·0
to 248·0)
2·20 (1·44
to 3·11)
51·0 (33·3
to 72·1)
10·2 (6·82
to 13·3)
234·4 (157·1
to 307·5)
Males
0·485 (0·282
to 0·687)
13·5 (7·9
to 19·2)
11·6 (6·83
to 16·5)
296·9 (174·0
to 420·1)
2·06 (1·33
to 2·90)
51·7 (33·3
to 73·0)
13·7 (8·67
to 18·7)
348·5 (219·4
to 478·1)
Percentage change 2010-19
Both Sexes
18·5% (10·6
to 27·6)
–9·2% (–15·1
to –2·7)
13·6% (5·2
to 23·3)
–9·7% (–16·2
to –2·1)
35·3% (31·5
to 39·5)
8·1% (5·2
to 11·4)
17·0% (9·2
to 25·6)
–7·0% (–13·0
to –0·2)
Females
17·6% (7·9
to 28·1)
–10·5% (–17·9
to –2·5)
12·9% (2·5
to 23·8)
–10·9% (–19·2
to –2·2)
34·4% (29·8
to 39·2)
7·4% (3·7
to 11·2)
16·9% (7·7
to 26·4)
–7·5% (–14·8
to 0·0)
Males
19·3% (8·0
to 32·5)
–8·2% (–16·3
to 1·2)
14·1% (2·9
to 27·5)
–8·8% (–17·6
to 1·9)
36·3% (31·6
to 41·7)
8·8% (5·0
to 13·2)
17·0% (6·6
to 29·3)
–6·6% (–14·6
to 3·2)
Numbers in parentheses are 95% uncertainty intervals.
Table 2: Attributable global deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs in counts and age-standardised rates for both sexes combined, females, and males, 2019, with percentage change between 2010 and 2019
Deaths YLLs YLDs DALYs
1990 20th 25th 27th 27th
2010 22nd 23rd 25th 26th
2019 20th 21st 21st 23rd
Table 3: Rank among attributable Level 3 risks plus most detailed Level 2 risks of global deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs in 1990, 2010, and 2019 for both sexes combined
Figure 1: Composition of attributable global DALYs by constituent Level 2 causes for both sexes combined, 2019
Figure 2: Composition of attributable global DALYs by YLLs and YLDs, age group, and sex, 2019
No Legend
Figure 3: Age-standardised all-cause SEV by location, both sexes combined, 2019
No Legend
Figure 4: Percentage change in all-cause age-standardised SEV by SDI, both sexes combined, 1990–2019
Figure 5: Percentage of population exposed to risk factor, both sexes combined, 2019
Figure 6: All-cause mortality relative risk, both sexes combined, 2019