Switching to a vegan diet could save a staggering £6.7 billion per year for the NHS in England, according to new research.
The new analysis, by the Office of Health Economics, demonstrates how the 100 per cent adoption of a vegan diet could save this huge sum of money through the reduction of disease.
A statement sent to Vegan Food & Living by The Vegan Society says: “Research shows a decreased relative risk associated with a vegan diet for many diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease, cataracts, type 2 diabetes, diverticular disease and obesity.”
It adds that ‘every 1 million people who switch to a healthy vegan diet would generate an estimated £121 million of health care cost savings’.
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NHS Savings
The new study used an economic model-based analysis to show that with 100 per cent adoption of plant-based diets in England, the total health care cost savings for the NHS could be around £6.7 billion.
According to the statement, authors Nadine Henderson and Chris Sampson ‘combined estimates for the prevalence of diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, which they predict would be greatly reduced with a complete uptake of plant-based diets.
They also modelled different levels of uptake in the population.
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Tucking into plants instead of animal products could save the NHS billions, according to the research. Photo © nd3000 via Getty Images
The statement adds: “The uptake of vegan diets has increased dramatically in recent years, with those making the switch citing various reasons, including perceived health benefits, reduced environmental impact, and improved animal welfare.
“For many, the transition to a vegan diet is an opportunity to consume more health-promoting plant foods, such as whole grains, nuts, legumes, fruits and vegetables whilst excluding the saturated fat and cholesterol found in meat, milk and eggs.
Research suggests that plant-based diets may improve health outcomes relating to diseases including cardiovascular disease and cancer, but despite this, there has been little research into the monetary value this could present to health services.”
The Vegan Society funded this research gap, which it says ‘starts to address this research gap and quantify the potential benefits to the NHS of a higher uptake of a vegan diet, with staggering results’.
“The conclusion reveals that if everybody in England ate a plant-based diet, NHS expenditure could be reduced by an estimated £6.7 billion per year, with 2.1 million fewer cases of disease and a gain of more than 170,000 quality-adjusted life years across the population,” it says.
“The potential impact of these savings is huge, with enough money saved to cover the full yearly budget of up to seven of England’s hospitals, or to cover the annual salaries of 64,990 consultants or 184,920 nurses.”
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Health cost saving
The report lays out huge cost-savings and potential benefits, which ‘provide a basis from which policymakers can consider the potential for interventions that support healthy dietary changes that contribute to population health’, says the NHS.
Commenting on the importance of the research and its potential impact, author Dr Chris Sampson says: “There is now compelling evidence that plant-based diets can benefit people’s health. Our analysis takes a significant step towards understanding how dietary choices impact population health and NHS expenditure overall.
“For every million people making the switch to a vegan diet the anticipated reduction in illness could save the NHS a staggering £121 million.”
Meanwhile, Head of Campaigns, Policy and Research for the Vegan Society Claire Ogley said: “It’s encouraging to see increasing evidence that plant-based diets can be not only beneficial to individual health but could also benefit the NHS on a bigger scale.
“As the report illustrates, wider uptake of plant-based diets could free up billions of pounds of funding to invest back into England’s hospitals and services.
“Policymakers should consider supporting and encouraging plant-based diets as part of public health campaigns to realise these benefits to the health service in the UK.”
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Featured photo © Abdullah Durmaz via Getty Images
