“Greater consumption of most ultra-processed foods is linked to a slightly higher risk of ‘premature’ death.” This is the conclusion reached by a 30-year US study reported in the magazine ‘BMJ’. The strongest associations were observed by the authors for ready-to-eat meat, poultry and seafood products, sugary drinks, dairy-based desserts and highly processed breakfast foods.
The researchers who signed the study – experts from various universities and centers from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston to universities in Brazil, China, the Netherlands – point out that not all ultra-processed food products should be universally limited, but that The results of the study “provide support” for the possible choice of “limiting the consumption of certain types of ultra-processed foods for long-term health”. Ultra-processed foods often contain colors, emulsifiers, flavors and other additives and are generally high in energy, added sugars, saturated fat and salt, but lack vitamins and fiber. Growing evidence links them to higher risks of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and bowel cancer, but few long-term studies have examined links to the risk of death from all causes and from specific causes, especially cancer.
To address this gap, researchers tracked 74,563 registered nurses in 11 US states in the Nurses’ Health Study (1984-2018) and 39,501 male healthcare professionals from all 50 US states in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2018) with no history of cancer, cardiovascular disease, or diabetes at enrollment. During an average follow-up period of 34 years, researchers identified 48,193 deaths. Compared to participants in the lowest range of ultra-processed food consumption (average 3 servings per day), those in the highest range (average 7 servings per day) had a 4% greater risk of total deaths and a greater than 9% of other deaths, including an 8% greater risk of neurodegenerative deaths. No association was found for deaths due to cardiovascular disease, cancer or respiratory disease.
In absolute numbers, the rate of death from any cause among participants in the lowest ultra-processed foods group and the highest-consumption group was 1,472 and 1,536 per 100,000 person-years, respectively. The association between ultra-processed food consumption and death varied depending on the specific food groups considered and was less pronounced after overall diet quality was taken into account, suggesting that diet quality has a stronger influence on overall health. long term compared to the consumption of ultra-processed foods, the authors note.
This is an observational study, so it is not possible to draw definitive conclusions about cause and effect. But “the findings provide support for limiting consumption of certain types of ultra-processed foods for long-term health. Future studies are needed to improve the classification of ultra-processed foods and confirm our findings in other populations.”
In a related editorial, New Zealand researchers underline that the goal “should be to support greater global adoption of more ambitious interventions and to increase safeguards to prevent policies implemented from being influenced by multinational food companies with vested interests.” that are not aligned with public health or environmental objectives.”
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