Eating ultra-processed foods increases the risk of premature death, but some foods are more harmful than others.
- Consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with risk of premature death.
- This correlation is more marked for certain products such as ultra-processed meats, sugary drinks or those containing artificial sugars.
- However, the overall diet, taking into account all the foods consumed, seems to matter more for the risk of premature death.
Chips, nuggets, sodas, freeze-dried pasta: these foods all have one thing in common, they belong to the category of ultra-processed foods. According to Inserm, they now constitute a third of our diet. However, for several years, scientists have demonstrated that they can have negative effects on health. They are notably associated with a higher risk of overweight, obesity, diabetes and even hypertension. In the British Medical Journal, American researchers add that their consumption is correlated with a higher risk of premature death. According to them, certain foods have a greater impact.
Ultra-processed food and risk of death: a follow-up of more than 30 years
This study, which was peer-reviewed, reviewed and criticized by other scientists, was based on medical data from more than 110,000 participants. In total, these were followed for around thirty years. At the start of the study, none of them had a history of cancer, cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Every two years, participants provided information about their health and lifestyle habits, and every four years, they completed a detailed dietary questionnaire. At the end of this research, more than 48,000 people died: some from cancer, others from cardiovascular or respiratory disease, or even from neurodegenerative disease.
Certain ultra-processed foods have more consequences on the risk of death
“VSCompared to participants in the lowest quarter of ultra-processed food consumption (on average 3 servings per day), those in the highest quarter (on average 7 servings per day) had a 4% higher risk of total deathnote the authors, and a 9% higher risk of death from causes other than cardiovascular disease or cancer, including an 8% higher risk of neurodegenerative deaths.” They note that the link between consumption of ultra-processed foods and risk of death varies depending on the type of food.
According to their findings, ready-to-eat meat, poultry and seafood products have the strongest and most consistent associations, followed by sugary and artificially sweetened beverages, dairy-based desserts and ultra-processed breakfast foods.
Diet and risk of death: overall nutritional balance is more important
In an interview with CNN, Dr Mingyang Song, lead author of the study and associate professor of clinical epidemiology and nutrition at the TH Chan School of Public Health at Harvard (United States), emphasizes that it is important to differentiate between different types of processed foods. “Cereals, whole wheat breads, for example, are also considered ultra-processed foods, but they contain various beneficial nutrients like fiber, vitamins and mineralshe recalls. On the other hand, I think people should try to avoid or limit the consumption of certain ultra-processed foods, like processed meat, sugary drinks, and also artificially sweetened drinks..”
Furthermore, the study shows that the association between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and the risk of death was less pronounced when the researchers took into account the diet as a whole. For the authors, this means that overall dietary quality has a stronger influence on long-term health than the consumption of ultra-processed foods alone. Dr Song wants to be reassuring in the columns of CNN : “If people maintain a generally healthy diet, I don’t think they need to be afraid.”