Karen Lock from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and his fellow researchers have estimated the global burden of disease attributable to inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables. In a study concluding in February 2005, they have found that up to 2.6 million global deaths and 31 per cent of the cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) can be attributed to inadequate consumption of food and vegetables. The researchers selected six ailments and analysed the burden of these diseases as a result of low consumption of fruits and vegetables. These are – Ischaemic heart disease (IHD), cerebrovascular disease, and cancers of the lung, stomach, oesophagus, colon and rectum. A systematic review of all the literature relating to the preventive effect of fruit and vegetable intake on these ailments was carried out. The researchers concluded that fruits and vegetables can have a significant impact in reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly Ischaemic heart disease.

For the first time, "low fruit and vegetable consumption" was included as a risk factor to calculate the global burden of disease (GBD) by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2000. It had attributed 1.8 per cent of the GBD to inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables. This is comparable to 2.3 per cent of GBD for obesity. Lock and his associates found that consuming up to 600 gm of fruits and vegetables per day could reduce the GBD by 1.8 per cent. Loosely speaking it could translate into a 31 per cent and 19 per cent reduction in the burden of Ischaemic heart disease and Ischaemic stroke respectively.

This is a clear indicator of the benefits of consuming fruits and vegetables in both developed and developing nations. The study also highlights the need for far greater emphasis on dietary risk factors in the public health policy in order to tackle the rise in NCDs worldwide. A joint fruit and vegetable promotion initiative was launched in 2003 by the WHO and FAO, as a part of the global strategy on diet, physical activity and health of the World Health Assembly 2004. Karen Lock’s study supports this initiative as a crucial component in any global diet strategy.