Skip to main content
Log in

Diet and diseases of affluence

  • Published:
Qualitas Plantarum Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

‘A number of the most common diseases in Western society are rare and in some instances almost unknown in communities minimally influenced by modern Western culture.

The dietary change most consistently associated with increased prevalence of these diseases is a reduction in the amount of dietary fibre consumed.

Hypotheses have been postulated to endeavour to explain the relationship between these diseases and fibre-depleted diets. In some, for example constipation and diverticular disease, the evidence is generally accepted as almost conclusive. Others require further testing, but for some no alternative hypotheses consistent with epidemiological evidence have been formulated’.

Zusammenfassung

Eine Auszahl unzerer westlichen Zivilisationskrankheiten sind teilweise in Stattsgebieten praktisch unbekannt, die sehr wenig von moderner westlicher Kultur beeinfluszt werden.

Mit den Zivilizationskrankheiten geht in groszer Folgerichtigkeit ein Rückgang des anteiligen Verzehrs am Rohfaser einher. Hypothesen wurden aufgestellt, um zu versuchen, die Beziehung zwischen diesen Krankheiten und rohfaserfreier Ernährungsform zu erklären. Als praktisch schlüssig, sieht man in einigen Fällen, z.B. Konstipation und Diverticultis als Ursache an.

In anderen Fällen sind noch weitere Teste erforderlich. Für andere wurden noch keine überzeugenden alternativen Hypothesen mit epidemiologischem Beweis formuliert.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Burkitt, D.P. (1971a). Epidemiology of Cancer of the Colon and Rectum.Cancer 28,3–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkitt, D.P. (1971b). The aetiology of appendicitis.Brit. J. Surg. 58:695–699.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkitt, D.F. (1972). Varicose Veins, Deep Vein Thrombosis, and Haemorrhoids: Epidemiology and suggested aetiology.Brit. Med. J. 2:556–561.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkitt, D.P. in Burkitt & Trowell. Refined Carbohydrate Foods and Disease, Academic Press, London, 1975, p. 87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkitt, D.P. (1976). Varicose Veins: fact or fantasy.Archives of Surgery. 31:1327–1332.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkitt, D.P. & James, P.A. (1973). Low-residue diets and hiatus hernia.Lancet. 2:128–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkitt, D.P., Walker, A.R.P. & Painter, N.S. (1974). Dietary Fiber and Disease.J. Am. Med. Ass. 229:1068–1074.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkitt, D.P. & Tunstall, M. (1975). Gallstones; Geographical and Chronological features.J. Trop. Hygiene. 78:140–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkitt, D.P. & Graham-Stewart, C.W. (1975). Haemorrhoids — Postulated Pathogenesis and Proposed prevention.Postgrad. Med. J. 51:631–636.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cookson, F.B. & Federoff, S. (1968). Quantitative relationships between administered cholesterol and alfalfa required to prevent hypercholesterolaemia in rabbits.Br. J. Exp. Path. 49:348–355.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doll, R., Payne, P. & Waterhouse, J. Cancer Incidence in Five Continents, Vol. 1, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 1966.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eastwood, M.A. (1975). The Role of Vegetable Dietary Fibre in Human Nutrition.Med. Hypotheses. 1:110–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ershoff, B.H. (1976). Synergistic toxicity of food additives in rats fed a diet low in dietary fiber.Food Sci. 41:949–951.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham-Stewart, C.W. (1963). What causes haemorrhoids.Dis. Colon. Rectum. 6:333–344.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heaton, K.W. Bile salts in Health and Disease. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh and London, 1972.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heaton, K.W. (1973). Food fibre as an obstacle to energy intake.Lancet. 2:1418–1421.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, Sir F.A. & Godding, E.W. Management of Constipation, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, 1972, p. 97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Menon, P.V.G. & Kurup, P.A. (1976). Dietary fiber and cholesterol metabolism: Effect of fibre rich polysaccharide from blackgram (Phaseolus mungo) on cholesterol metabolism in rats fed normal and atherogenic diet.Biomedicine. 24:248–253.

    Google Scholar 

  • Painter, N.S. Diverticular Disease of the Colon, Heinemann, London, 1975.

    Google Scholar 

  • Painter, N.S. & Burkitt, D.P. (1971). Diverticular disease of the colon; a deficiency disease of western civilization.Brit. Med. J. 2:450–454.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seftel, H.C., Kew, M.C. & Bersohn, I. (1970). Myocardial infarction in Johannesburg Bantu.S. Afr. Med. J. 44:8–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Short, A.R. (1920). The Causation of appendicitis.Brit. J. Surg. 8:171–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Southgate, D.A.T., Bailey, B., Collinson, E. & Walker, A. (1976). A guide to calculating intakes of dietary fibre.J. Hum. Nutr. 30:303–313.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spiller, G.A., Fassett-Cornelius, G. & Briggs, G.M. (1976). A new term for plant fibers in nutrition.Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 29:934–935.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stemmerman, G.N. (1970). Patterns of disease among Japanese living in Hawaii.Arch. Environ Health. 20:266–273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trowell, H.C. (1974). Obesity in the Western World.Plant Foods for Man. 1:157–168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trowell, H.C. in Burkitt & Trowell (1975a). Refined Carbohydrate Foods and Disease. Academic Press, p. 195.

  • Trowell, H.C. (1975b). Dietary-fiber hypothesis of the Etiology of Diabetes Mellitus.Diabetes. 24:762–765.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trowell, H.C. (1976). Definition of dietary fiber and hypotheses that it is a protective factor in certain diseases.Amer. J. Clin. Nutr. 29:417–427.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trowell, H.C. & Burkitt, D.P. Dietary fibre and cardiovascular disease.Artery, in the press.

  • Van Soest, P. (1976). The Secret my Friends is the Fiber.Human Ecology Forum. 6:1–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, A.R.P. & Burkitt, D.P. Colonic Cancer-Hypotheses of Causation.Am. J. Dig. Dis. 21;910–917.

  • Wynder, E.L. & Reddy, B.S. (1975). Dietary fat and colon cancer.J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 54:7–10.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Burkitt, D.P. Diet and diseases of affluence. Plant Food Hum Nutr 27, 227–238 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01092315

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01092315

Keywords

Navigation