Switching To Veg Diet Boosts Life By 8 Months, Cuts Greenhouse Gases By 17 Percent

Eating less red and processed meat in exchange for more vegetables and fruits could boost the average life expectancy of an individual by eight months while also reducing greenhouse emissions by 17 percent.

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This is according to a report by the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal Society that looked at how climate change measures can better the health of people and save lives in the short and long term.

The report was released ahead of the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26 which will be held in Glasgow from October 31st to November 12.

The report was based on 11 leading experts who reviewed evidence from a range of sources around the health impacts of initiatives to tackle climate change.

As per the report, if health is made central to the climate agenda, then actions taken to reach UK net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 will have near-term benefits on human health while also preventing the world from a global climate catastrophe.

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Increasing physical activity in the form of cycling, walking instead of driving could actually help the NHS save ?17 billion over a course of 20 years. Moreover, getting rid of fossil fuels entirely could eliminate 36,000 premature deaths caused due to air pollution.

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Sir Andy Haines, co-chairman of the report and professor of environmental change and public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said in a statement, ¡°This report brings us some profoundly good news: the choices we make individually and as a society to prevent climate change will also improve our health, with the potential to reduce the pressure on our overburdened health services ¡ª both now and for future generations.¡±

He added, ¡°Our report gives many "win-win" examples of actions that would have a positive impact on health and the climate. Sectors including transport, food, building and energy should take health into account when implementing climate actions to capitalise on these double benefits. Many of the measures, such as improved public transport access and energy-efficient housing, could also help decrease health inequalities."

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