(Natural News) Many preppers may not realize that the greatest threat to their survival isn't a natural disaster or malevolent humans. It is an unhealthy diet, the leading cause of early death and chronic diseases.

Researchers from The Global Burden of Disease Study evaluated the risk factors for premature deaths. They observed the diets of people in 195 countries from 1990 until 2017.

The researchers paid particular attention to the presence and levels of 15 different types of food and nutrients in a diet.

Published in the journal The Lancet, their findings showed that a bad diet causes more early deaths and diseases than other unhealthy behaviors. Eating unhealthy food can also harm a person more than lighting a cancer stick.

The study also showed that poor diet was responsible for one in every five adult deaths in 2017. A total of 11 million deaths stemmed from eating unhealthy food while cardiovascular disease accounted for more than 10 million of those deaths.

"This study affirms what many have thought for several years — that poor diet is responsible for more deaths than any other risk factor in the world," said University of Washington researcher Dr. Christopher J. L. Murray, who served as the lead author of the study. (Related: Toxins and the Standard American Diet (SAD) – Are humans becoming Pottinger's Cats?)

Bad diets are the leading cause of early death and chronic diseases

When the researchers evaluated different diets, they found that most people ate insufficient amounts of healthy foods such as fruits, legumes, and vegetables. Nutrition-wise, many lacked calcium, fiber, and omega-3 fatty acids.