🍎 Diet low in fruits
Insufficient fruit intake (<250g/day) deprives the body of fiber, vitamins, and protective antioxidants.
Compared to Other Dietary Risks (2023)
How diet low in fruits compares against the other four GBD dietary risk factors in global attributable deaths.
Global Deaths Over Time (1990–2023)
Deaths by Region (2023)
Attributable deaths from diet low in fruits aggregated by world region.
Associated Diseases
Low fruits is linked to increased risk of the following conditions according to the GBD study:
Highest Death Rate by Country (2023)
Ranked by deaths per 100,000 population — a fairer comparison than absolute numbers. Countries under 100,000 population excluded.
| # | Country | Deaths | Per 100k |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bulgaria | 5,741 | 84.5 |
| 2 | Estonia | 910 | 66.6 |
| 3 | Latvia | 1,151 | 61.1 |
| 4 | Ukraine | 22,323 | 59.2 |
| 5 | Mauritius | 728 | 57.2 |
| 6 | Fiji | 498 | 53.9 |
| 7 | Lithuania | 1,535 | 53.8 |
| 8 | Hungary | 4,569 | 47.2 |
| 9 | Belarus | 4,126 | 45.3 |
| 10 | Moldova | 1,155 | 45.0 |
| 11 | Trinidad and Tobago | 657 | 43.7 |
| 12 | Myanmar | 23,582 | 43.6 |
| 13 | Georgia | 1,649 | 43.3 |
| 14 | India | 522,641 | 36.3 |
| 15 | Barbados | 101 | 35.8 |
| 16 | North Korea | 8,958 | 34.5 |
| 17 | Russia | 48,996 | 33.7 |
| 18 | Croatia | 1,297 | 33.3 |
| 19 | Slovakia | 1,808 | 32.8 |
| 20 | Eritrea | 1,220 | 32.5 |
Lowest Death Rate by Country (2023)
Ranked by deaths per 100,000 population. Countries under 100,000 population excluded.
| # | Country | Deaths | Per 100k |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dominican Republic | 104 | 0.9 |
| 2 | Qatar | 58 | 1.9 |
| 3 | Kiribati | 4 | 3.0 |
| 4 | Oman | 189 | 3.7 |
| 5 | Israel | 338 | 3.7 |
| 6 | Iran | 3,348 | 3.7 |
| 7 | United Arab Emirates | 407 | 3.8 |
| 8 | Uganda | 1,875 | 3.9 |
| 9 | Albania | 121 | 4.3 |
| 10 | Turkey | 4,318 | 4.9 |
| 11 | Comoros | 46 | 5.4 |
| 12 | Bahrain | 85 | 5.4 |
| 13 | Kuwait | 267 | 5.5 |
| 14 | Colombia | 3,017 | 5.8 |
| 15 | Gabon | 152 | 6.1 |
| 16 | Rwanda | 860 | 6.2 |
| 17 | Guyana | 53 | 6.4 |
| 18 | Singapore | 387 | 6.5 |
| 19 | Peru | 2,411 | 7.1 |
| 20 | Tunisia | 930 | 7.6 |
Fruits to Eat More Of
Increasing fruit intake above 250g/day is associated with reduced cardiovascular and cancer risk. Explore these common fruits:
Other Dietary Risk Factors
🔗 Related from the Mortality Explorer
This dietary risk factor is also tracked in our sister project, the Human Mortality Explorer, which examines all-cause mortality across 204 countries.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people die from diet low in fruits each year?
According to the Global Burden of Disease 2023 study, diet low in fruits was responsible for approximately 1,762,617 deaths globally in 2023, making it the #1 dietary risk factor worldwide.
Which countries have the highest death rate from diet low in fruits?
The countries with the highest per-capita death rate attributed to diet low in fruits are Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia. Per-capita rates provide a fairer comparison than absolute numbers, which are dominated by population size.
What diseases are linked to diet low in fruits?
The GBD study links diet low in fruits to increased risk of: Ischemic heart disease, Stroke, Diabetes mellitus type 2, Tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancer, Esophageal cancer. These associations are based on meta-analyses of epidemiological studies.
What is considered a safe level for this dietary risk?
Insufficient fruit intake (<250g/day) deprives the body of fiber, vitamins, and protective antioxidants.