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Eating ultra-processed foods increases the risk of developing or dying from dozens of adverse health conditions, according to a new review of 45 meta-analyses of nearly 10 million people.
“We found consistent evidence linking higher intake of ultra-processed foods with more than 70% of the 45 different health outcomes we evaluated,” said lead author Wolfgang Marx, senior researcher at the University’s Center for Food and Mood. Deakin in Geelong, Australia. , in an email.
A higher intake was considered about one serving or about 10% more ultra-processed foods per day, Heinz Freisling, a scientist in the nutrition and metabolism branch of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, said in an email. of the World Health Organization.
“This ratio can be considered ‘baseline’ and for people who consume more than this baseline, the risk could increase,” said Freisling, who was not involved in the study.
The researchers rated each study as credible or strong, highly suggestive, suggestive, weak or no evidence. All of the studies in the review were published in the past three years and none were funded by companies involved in the production of ultra-processed foods, the authors said.
“There is strong evidence showing that higher intake of ultra-processed foods was associated with approximately a 50% increased risk of death related to cardiovascular diseases and common mental disorders,” said lead author Dr. Melissa Lane, a postdoctoral researcher. in Deakin, in a studio. email. Cardiovascular disease encompasses heart attacks, strokes, clogged arteries, and peripheral artery disease.
There was compelling evidence that high versus low intake of ultra-processed foods could increase the risk of anxiety by up to 53% and the risk of premature death from any cause by 20%, according to the study published Wednesday in the journal The BMJ.
“Not surprisingly, there are many studies pointing to a positive association between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and the risk of various diseases,” said cancer epidemiologist Fang Fang Zhang, associate professor and chair of the division of nutritional epidemiology. and data science. at Tufts University in Boston. She was not involved in the new research.
“Ultra-processed foods are high in calories, added sugar, sodium and low in fiber,” Zhang said. “All of these are already known to contribute to cardiometabolic health outcomes, weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes and hypertension.”
However, Zhang questioned the findings of studies on anxiety and depression, which tend to be conducted only on people who have already been diagnosed with those conditions.
“People who have depressive symptoms or anxiety may seek out ultra-processed foods for a variety of reasons, such as personal comfort,” she said. “It may not be that eating ultra-processed foods puts you at high risk for depression; we can’t say.”
The researchers found highly suggestive evidence that eating more ultra-processed foods increased the risk of obesity by 55%, sleep disorders by 41%, the development of type 2 diabetes by 40% and the risk of depression by twenty%.
However, according to the analysis, evidence of an association between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and asthma, gastrointestinal health and cardiometabolic risk factors such as high levels of blood fats and low levels of “good” cholesterol high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, was limited.
Additionally, the study found only suggestive evidence or no evidence of an association between ultra-processed foods and cancer. This is surprising, according to Zhang, who has researched the role of ultra-processed foods and cancer.
“Obesity is a risk factor for 13 types of cancer. Ultra-processed foods increase weight gain and obesity increases cancer,” she stated. in a August 2022 Study As a co-author, Zhang found that men who ate the most ultra-processed foods of any type had a 29% increased risk of developing colorectal cancer.
One reason for this unexpected finding is that research on ultra-processed foods is still in its infancy, said study co-author Mathilde Touvier, research director at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, a public research organization.
“We definitely need more studies to be able to improve the weight of evidence on cancer, for example,” said Touvier, also principal investigator of the NutriNet-Santé cohort, a long-term study on the relationship between nutrition and health.
“So it’s not because there’s nothing there, it’s just because we need additional research,” he said.
Ultra-processed foods are much more than just “modified” foods, said nutrition researcher Dr. Carlos Monteiro, head of the Center for Epidemiological Studies in Health and Nutrition at the University of São Paulo in Brazil. He was not involved in the new investigation.
“They are formulations of cheap, often chemically manipulated ingredients, such as starches, sugars, oils, fats and modified protein isolates, to which little or no whole foods are added,” said Monteiro, professor of nutrition and public health, in a report. attached editorial.
monteiro coined the term ultra-processed foods in 2009 when it developed NOVA, a four-category food classification system. Group one is made up of unprocessed or minimally processed foods, such as fruits, vegetables, eggs and milk. Group two includes culinary ingredients such as salt, herbs, oils and the like. Group three are processed foods that combine groups one and two; canned goods and frozen vegetables are examples.
Group four are ultra-processed foods, which Monteiro says are made tasty and appealing through the use of flavor combinations, colorings, thickeners and other artificial additives that have been “linked by experimental and epidemiological evidence to imbalances in the gut microbiota and inflammation.” “systemic”.
“There is no reason to believe that humans can fully adapt to these products,” Monteiro wrote in the editorial. “The body can react to them as useless or harmful, so its systems can deteriorate or become damaged, depending on their vulnerability and the amount of ultra-processed foods consumed.”
Since Monteiro’s definition of ultra-processed foods appeared, nutritionists, researchers, and public health officials have become concerned about the increasing prevalence of such foods in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and many developing nations.
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According to research, more than 70% of the US food supply is ultra-processed foods.
“Two-thirds of the calories children consume in the United States are ultra-processed, while about 60% of adults’ diets are ultra-processed,” Zhang said.
“I think it’s like when we invented cars,” he added. “Yes, they give us comfort, but if we use the car for everything and don’t exercise we have problems. “We need new strategies to reduce the consumption of ultra-processed foods to a healthier level.”
There is an easy solution: buy real food and cook it at home. It’s that simple, experts say. But experts also agree that in today’s fast-paced world, it’s hard to give up the convenience of ready-to-heat, ready-to-eat foods. Furthermore, it is almost impossible to avoid temptation, since more than 70% of US food supply It is made from ultra-processed foods.
Monteiro said regulations from public health agencies and governments should be considered, such as warning labels on the front of the package; restriction of advertising, especially aimed at children; and banning the sale of ultra-processed foods in or near schools and hospitals, all making minimally processed foods more affordable and accessible.
Meanwhile, Marx and Lane offered the following advice:
1) Read and compare product labels and try to choose less processed alternatives. For example, swap flavored yogurt for plain yogurt with added fruit.
2) What you include is as important as what you exclude. Focus on what you can add to your diet, such as fresh, frozen, or canned fruits, vegetables, beans, and legumes.
3) Be careful with drinks. Sugary drinks have no nutritional value. Change them for water.
4) When eating out, go to local restaurants and cafes instead of fast food chains. Local restaurants are less likely to make ultra-processed foods.