United Kingdom: A new study has found that consuming higher levels of ultraprocessed food increases the risk of developing multimorbidity, or having multiple chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
The study, published in the journal The Lancet, analysed dietary information from 266,666 men and women from seven European countries between 1992 and 2000. Researchers monitored the participants for 11 years to observe the occurrence of different chronic conditions, such as cancer.
“What is particularly significant in this large study is that eating more ultra-processed foods, in particular animal products and sweetened beverages, was linked to an increased risk of developing cancer along with another disease such as a stroke or diabetes,” Ms. Helen Croker, assistant director of research and policy at World Cancer Research Fund International, which funded the study, commented in a statement.
“The findings are concerning because in Europe, ultra-processed foods make up more than half of our daily food intake,” the coauthor, Mr. Heinz Freisling, a nutrition and metabolism scientist at the International Agency for Research on Cancer, remarked.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, ultraprocessed foods contain ingredients “never or rarely used in kitchens, or classes of additives whose function is to make the final product palatable or more appealing.”
The list of additives includes preservatives to resist mould and bacteria; emulsifiers to keep incompatible ingredients from separating; artificial colorings and dyes; anti-foaming, bulking, bleaching, gelling, and glazing agents; and added or altered sugar, salt, and fats designed to make food more appealing.
During the study, each person was asked what they typically ate over the last 12 months, and researchers categorised the foods by the NOVA classification system, which looks beyond nutrients to how foods are made.
“When ultraprocessed foods were examined by subgroups, not all appeared to be associated with developing multiple chronic conditions, the lead author, Ms. Reynalda Córdova, a postdoctoral student in pharmaceutical, nutritional, and sports sciences at the University of Vienna, remarked.
“While certain groups, such as animal products and artificially and sugar-sweetened beverages, were associated with increased risk, other groups, such as ultra-processed breads and cereals or alternative plant-based products, showed no association with risk,” Ms. Córdova added in her statement.
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