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While the hot dog is a beloved American classic, researchers at the University of Michigan are sounding the alarm that each one could be shaving precious time off your life.
A study examining how diet impacts longevity found that consuming a hot dog shortens a person’s lifespan, while healthier food choices can extend it. Published in Nature Food, the research analyzed 5,853 foods – and some sodas – commonly found in the U.S. diet, measuring their effects on overall well-being in terms of minutes of healthy life gained or lost.
This comes as people are preparing for Memorial Day cookouts. The costs of summer barbecue celebrations have increased this year, as food costs are up 13% overall, including hot dogs, hamburgers and buns.
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Skipping out on hotdogs may be better for you wallet – and your health.
“We wanted to make a health-based evaluation of the beneficial and detrimental impacts of the food in the entire diet,” said Olivier Jolliet, professor of environmental health sciences at the university and senior author of the study, in an interview with CNN.
How many minutes does a hot dog take off your lifespan?
According to the study, eating just one hot dog could cost you 36 minutes of your life.
Researchers developed an index to measure the impact specific foods have on the body, calculated in minutes of healthy life. The study draws on findings from the Global Burden of Disease research, which examines the health consequences associated with various dietary choices.
“For example, 0.45 minutes are lost per gram of processed meat, or 0.1 minutes are gained per gram of fruit. We then look at the composition of each food and then multiplied this number by the corresponding food profiles that we previously developed,” Jolliet told CNN.
The study says 0.45 minutes of healthy life are lost per gram of processed meat -Credit:Getty
What foods can actually increase your lifespan?
The research found that foods such as nuts, legumes, seafood, fruits and non-starchy vegetables can have a beneficial effect on your health.
Jolliet emphasized that the study’s goal was to motivate people toward better eating habits.
“Is it the ultimate metric that will tell you exactly what to eat tomorrow and entirely determine your life expectancy? No,” he added.
“It is a useful metric that can help you make more informed choices and makes it simpler to identify and make adequate small changes in our diet.”