New research shows that a lifetime of snacking and frozen meal dinners may affect your body in many surprising ways. The study, a large-scale review of existing evidence, found a link between regular consumption of ultra-processed foods and a higher risk of many health problems. Studies have also linked these foods to early death.
Many studies show that ultra-processed foods are particularly harmful to our health. But the authors of this latest study, publish On Wednesday, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) said a comprehensive bird’s-eye view of the scientific literature on these foods had yet to be conducted. To address this issue, they decided to conduct an “umbrella review”—a review of other reviews and meta-analyses on a specific topic.
In total, the team looked at data from 14 reviews involving a combined total of nearly 10 million people, none of which were funded by ultra-processed food manufacturers. Overall, they found that high exposure to these foods was associated with a higher risk of 32 health outcomes, including heart disease, sleep problems and depression. Consuming more ultra-processed foods was also associated with an increased risk of death from any cause (21% increase) and specifically heart-related death (66% increase).
“This overall review found consistent evidence that higher risks of adverse health outcomes are associated with greater exposure to ultra-processed foods,” the authors wrote.
Figuring out just how unhealthy any group of foods is can be difficult, and the authors note that the evidence for some links is stronger than others. For example, for conditions such as Crohn’s disease, obesity, and colon cancer, the authors found weak to no evidence of a potential association. Instead, heart-related deaths, common mental health disorders and type 2 diabetes were the strongest evidence for higher risks.
Another limitation of this study is that not everyone agrees on what exactly ultra-processed foods are.The standard used by the authors and many other researchers is called the NOVA food classification system, which definition These foods are “made entirely or substantially from substances extracted from food, substances derived from food ingredients, or substances synthesized in a laboratory from food matrices or other organic sources.” Common examples of ultra-processed foods include soft drinks, candy, and ready-to-eat meals.but there are already some debate On how useful this system really is and whether food experts can Reliably identify Ultra-processed foods based on this standard.
That is, small randomized controlled trials found Ultra-processed foods may be especially bad for us. Considering all the data collected, it would be strange if there were no real health risks associated with eating too much of these foods. The authors say more rigorous research is needed to understand exactly how these foods negatively impact our health, but they also believe policymakers should do more to reduce our reliance on them.Other studies show that everyone’s diet—including children and teenagers——These foods are too filling.
“These findings support urgent mechanistic research and public health actions aimed at targeting and minimizing consumption of ultra-processed foods to improve population health,” the study authors wrote.