By now, you've probably heard that eating meat is bad for you. The World Health Organization made headlines last year when it declared processed meat a "carcinogen" that increases your risk of colon or rectum cancer by 18 percent. But it's not just processed meat that poses a health risk — science has known for a while that eating all kinds of animals, including "white meat," is bad for you.

It's worth knowing exactly what the health risks of eating meat are, so that you can make an informed decision for yourself about how much of a risk you feel it's necessary to take by continuing to consume animals.

1- Heart attack

Completed in 2013, an 11-year study of 45,000 volunteers found that a vegetarian diet could cut one's risk of heart disease by as much as 32 percent. Lead researcher Francesca Crowe of the University of Oxford theorizes that this lowered risk is due to lower cholesterol and blood pressure in vegetarians.

2- Cancer

In 2015, the World Health Organization placed processed meats like bacon in the same category of cancer risk as asbestos and smoking cigarettes. Past studies corroborate the correlation between meat consumption and an increased risk of cancer. In fact, one study found that compared to women who ate one serving of red meat a week, women who ate 1.5 servings of red meat a day had a 22 percent greater risk of developing breast cancer.

3- Stroke

Because meat causes blockages in blood vessels, it’s no surprise that it leads to strokes. Consumption of red meat in particular has been reported to increase the risk of an ischemic stroke by 47 percent.

4- Diabetes

According to researchers, meat is "one of the most well-established dietary risk factors" for diabetes. A study by the Harvard School of Public Health found that even modest consumption of red or processed meat significantly increases the risk of type 2 diabetes — an illness that can cause debilitating health problems, including blindness.

5-Obesity

A University of Adelaide doctoral student found that meat contributes to obesity prevalence worldwide to the same extent as sugar. The research found that meat protein is digested later than fats and carbohydrates, making the energy we receive from protein a surplus. This surplus is converted and stored as fat in the human body. The study attributes nearly 13 percent of the obesity rate to the availability of meat.