Eating a large amount of ultra-processed foods increases the risk of death, confirms a study which also points the finger at the most dangerous products.
- Older people who reported consuming higher amounts of ultra-processed foods were about 10% more likely to die than others.
- Processed meats and soft drinks have the strongest association with increased mortality, the researchers said.
- The team also recommends following recommendations and avoiding ultra-processed products.
Ultra-processed foods are very bad for your health. There have been so many studies concluding on these words in recent years that it is not surprising that the National Cancer Institute (USA) has reached the same conclusion.
However, this research, presented at the annual congress Nutrition 2024 June 30, provides clarification: elderly people who consume large quantities of them face an increased risk of death. It also helped to highlight the most harmful industrial products.
Ultra-processed foods: 10% higher risk of death for heavy consumers
For the study, the researchers looked at data from more than 540,000 people who provided information about their eating habits and health starting in the mid-1990s. They were aged 50 to 71 at the time. More than half of the participants have since died. The team assessed overall death rates in the group of people who ate very high ultra-processed foods and those who ate very little.
The result: Those who ate processed foods were about 10% more likely to die during a median follow-up of 23 years. Specifically, higher consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with a slight increase in all-cause deaths and deaths specifically related to heart disease or diabetes. In contrast, no association was found for cancer-related deaths. In addition, the data show that seniors who ate more ultra-processed foods also tended to have a higher body mass index (BMI) and a lower healthy eating index.
“However, the analysis showed that the associations between ultra-processed food consumption and increased mortality were not explained by these variables, as the associations between higher ultra-processed food consumption and mortality risk persisted among people classified as having better or worse quality diets as well as among those classified as normal weight or obese.”warn the experts in their communicated.
Ultra-processed foods: watch out for sodas and sausages
Although the researchers were unable to explain the precise origin of the link between industrial products and the increased risk of death, they were able to identify the most harmful ultra-processed foods among cakes, cold cuts, pizzas, sausages, breakfast cereals, sweets, etc.
“We observed that highly processed meat (such as hot dogs, sausages and cold cuts) and soft drinks were among the ultra-processed food subgroups most strongly associated with mortality risk.”says Erikka Loftfield of the National Cancer Institute.
The scientist uses her study to remind us of the importance of reducing our consumption of ultra-processed products such as sodas and processed meats in order to favor fresh and seasonal foods.
