Researchers publishing in The Archives of Internal Medicine found that people who eat a lot of red meat have a raised risk of death from all causes over a 10-year period. A higher intake of white meat was associated with a slightly lowered risk of death over the same period.
The study, from the US, was carried out on more than 500 000 people.
The researchers, from The US National Cancer Institute, found those whose diet contained the highest proportion of red or processed meat had a higher overall risk of death, and specifically a higher risk of cancer and heart disease than those who ate the least.
People eating the most meat were eating about 160g of red or processed meat per day. Those who ate the least were only getting about 25g per day - approximately a small rasher of bacon.
Conversely, those who ate the highest proportion of white meat had a lower risk of overall death, and a lower risk of fatal cancer or heart disease than those who ate the lowest proportion.
The researchers calculated that 11% of deaths in men and 16% of deaths in women could be prevented if people decreased their red meat consumption to the level of those in the lowest intake group.
The researchers said cancer-causing compounds were formed during high-temperature cooking of meat.
Meat is a major source of saturated fat, which has been associated with breast and colorectal cancer. In addition, lower meat intake has been linked to a reduction in risk factors for heart disease, including lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
