Ultra-processed foods increase the risk of premature death

Consuming large amounts of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) increases the risk of premature death, warns an international study published this Monday 28th.

Consumption of these foods, which include ice cream, processed meats, mass-produced breads and soft drinks, has been linked to a range of health problems, including increased risk of obesity, heart disease and cancer.

Ultra-processed foods often contain high levels of saturated fat, salt, sugar and additives, which experts say leaves less room in people's diets for more nutritious foods.

They also tend to include additives and ingredients that are not used when people cook the foods they eat themselves, such as preservatives, emulsifiers, artificial colors and flavors.

Every 10% increase in consumption of ultra-processed foods, such as bread, cakes and ready-made meals, increases the risk of a person dying before reaching the age of 75 by 3%, the study states.

Alarming situation in the US and UK

In the study, published in the scientific portal American Journal of Preventive Medicine , which analyzed data from eight countries, researchers found that ultra-processed foods reached 54.5% of people's energy intake in the United States and 53.4% ​​in the United Kingdom.

Scientists estimate that these foods are involved in up to one in seven premature deaths that occur in some countries, with them being associated with 124,107 premature deaths per year in the US and 17,781 in the UK.

While 4%, 5%, 6% and 10.9% of premature deaths in Colombia, Brazil, Chile and Canada, respectively, are attributable to UFP consumption, this figure is 13.7% in the US and 13.8% in the UK – where the highest proportion was recorded among the eight countries surveyed.

The higher the intake, the higher the risk of death.

“First, we estimated a linear association between the share of UPFs in the diet and all-cause mortality, such that each 10% increase in the share of ultra-processed foods in the diet increases the risk of death from all causes by 3%,” said the study’s lead researcher, Eduardo Nilson, from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) in Brazil.

He says the authors found a connection between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and mortality from all causes by examining official surveys previously conducted in the UK and US, as well as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile and Mexico.

“Premature deaths attributable to the consumption of ultra-processed foods increase significantly in line with their share in the total energy intake of individuals. A high intake of UFPs can significantly affect health,” the researchers state.

“UFFs affect health beyond the individual impact of high levels of essential nutrients – sodium, trans fats and sugar – due to changes in foods during industrial processing and the use of artificial ingredients, including artificial colours, flavours and sweeteners, emulsifiers and many other additives and processing aids. Therefore, assessing all-cause deaths associated with UFP consumption allows for an overall estimate of the health effects of industrial food processing,” the scientists concluded.

Scientists call for government action

In the study, the researchers call on governments to issue dietary recommendations aimed at reducing the consumption of ultra-processed foods. Nilson warns that although the impact of health problems caused by ultra-processed foods is greater in high-income countries, it also increases in low-income and middle-income countries.

Some experts, however, say it's unclear why UFPs are linked to health problems, and question whether it's because of the processing of these foods or because people choose diets high in fat, sugar and salt over more nutritious options.