The study suggests a shortfall in bioactive dietary components may be at play. Specifically, the authors mention fiber, heme iron, vitamins, minerals, branched-chain amino acids, fatty acids, and phytochemicals as being in short supply.

The authors of the study also mention that a diet lacking in plant sources — particularly when animal products make up the difference — has been seen to encourage inflammatory pathways, cause more rapid biological aging, and produce oxidative stress.

The need for more dietary fats in women

Prof. Van Horn suggested that given female participants’ “low BMI, it may be likely that they eat less sugar and drink less alcohol, and thus consume higher percent fat compared to the men.“

But […] this is all speculative because these questions are not addressed in the paper,“ she cautioned.

Routhenstein noted the need in women for “a certain amount of fat in order to produce adequate hormones like estrogen, which are cardioprotective.”

The authors themselves do not speculate on this, but note that the intake of saturated fat was inversely linked to mortality risk only among women.

The study supports the need for further research. For people in the U.S. and other Western countries, a similar study done with a more locally representative population may provide more actionable findings that consider the local dietary and health landscape.