The WA Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation Inc.

Lots of red meat can harm vision: report

March 18, 2009

Feed the man meat, but don't overdo it or he could go blind - that's the finding of a study carried out by the Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital.

Researchers from the hospital and the Centre for Eye Research Australia have found a link between red meat consumption and an increased risk of early vision loss.
The report's author Dr Elaine Chong said there was an association between people who ate red meat more than 10 times a week and early Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

She said it's the first detailed study in the world to look at the link between meat consumption and early Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

The study, which spanned two decades, examined the diets of 6,734 people aged between 58 and 69 in Melbourne between 1990-1994 and followed up with examination of their macular degeneration between 2003-2006.

It also found a decreased association of vision loss for people who ate more than three and a half serves of chicken a week.

"Interestingly, about one quarter of our study population ate red meat at least 10 times a week, and the association with both early and late AMD was stronger for salami and continental sausage consumption than for fresh red meat," Dr Chong said.
AMD is the leading cause of severe vision loss in Australia and it's estimated one in seven people over the age of 50 are affected by the condition.