Poor diet 'does not affect health' after the age of 75

Scientists in the US have discovered evidence to suggest dieting after the age of 75 makes very little difference to overall health.

Researchers from Penn State University in Pennsylvania conducted a five-year study of almost 500 adults over the age of 75 to reach these conclusions, the Daily Mail reports.

They discovered the groups of people who followed high-fat or high-sugar diets did not display any increase in conditions such as heart disease or type 2 diabetes in comparison to those who followed a health-conscious diet.

Gordon Jensen, author of the study, said: "The results suggest that if you live to be this old, then there may be little to support the use of overly restrictive dietary prescriptions, especially where food intake may already be inadequate."

He did concede, however, that patients who have followed healthy diets all their lives are more likely to have better health in old age.

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