What is the Seven Countries Study?

The Seven Countries Study is a landmark epidemiological study that was conducted by Ancel Keys, an American physiologist and nutritionist, in the 1950s and 1960s. The study investigated the relationship between diet, lifestyle, and cardiovascular disease risk in different populations.

The study was conducted in seven countries: the United States, Finland, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Japan, and Yugoslavia. The participants were men between the ages of 40 and 59 years, and the study followed them for more than 20 years.

One of the key findings of the Seven Countries Study was that there was a strong association between a diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. This finding helped to establish the idea that dietary fat intake was a major contributor to the development of heart disease.

The study also found that there were significant differences in cardiovascular disease rates between the different countries. For example, the rates of heart disease in the United States and Finland were much higher than in Greece and Italy, which had traditional Mediterranean diets that were rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, and olive oil.

The Seven Countries Study has been criticized for its methodology and limitations, but it remains an important piece of research that has helped to shape our understanding of the relationship between diet, lifestyle, and cardiovascular disease risk.