Rising obesity and diabetes rates have prompted much more thorough research on the role of the “Western diet” in our bodies.
We already know that high levels of sugar and fat can have a detrimental impact on various body systems. However, the full scale of the damage had not been analyzed until now.
A team of French scientists has focused their study on ultra-processed foods.
The term “ultra- processed” refers to food products that have been subjected to industrial processes by manufacturers and contain a range of varied ingredients. Some examples include sugary drinks, breads, prepared foods, sweets, and processed meats.
The dangers of ultra-processed foods
In general, ultra-processed foods are high in energy, fat, and sugar or salt, and low in fiber , which helps explain their links to disease risk. However, in addition to this, they tend to contain a range of artificial ingredients that can also play a key role in some medical conditions.
Such products tend to be cheap to produce and affordable for consumers; And, according to some research, ultra-processed foods dominate the food supply of high-income countries.
Although scientists have previously linked ultra-processed foods to many health conditions , so far none have examined their impact on overall mortality.
According to the authors of the study in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine , there is a link between ultra-processed products and a wide variety of conditions, including “obesity, hypertension and cancer.”
For their work, the scientists took data from the French NutriNet-Santé study. In total, they followed 44,551 individuals aged 45 and over (73% were women) for an average of 7 years. Each volunteer completed a web form that asked about their food intake, and also provided information about their lifestyle, weight, height, levels of physical activity, and socioeconomic status.
The scientists found that consuming high levels of ultra-processed foods was associated with being younger, earning less, having a lower level of education, living alone, exercising less, and having a higher body mass index (BMI).
As expected, even after adjusting for a number of factors, a high level of ultra-processed foods in the diet was linked to an increased risk of all-cause mortality.
The data revealed that ultra-processed foods made up 14% of the total weight of food they consumed each day. Due to the high caloric density of these products, this figure is equivalent to 29% of the total daily energy intake. Overall, a 10% increase in the amount of ultra-processed foods consumed equates to a 14% increase in mortality risk.
“The findings of this prospective study of a large French cohort suggest for the first time that a higher proportion of ultra-processed foods in the diet is associated with an increased risk of overall mortality,” the authors conclude.
Referencia: Association Between Ultraprocessed Food Consumption and Risk of Mortality Among Middle-aged Adults in France. Laure Schnabel; Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot; Benjamin Allès et al; Mathilde Touvier; Bernard Srour, Pharm; Serge Hercberg; Camille Buscail; Chantal Julia. JAMA Intern Med. Published online February 11, 2019. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.7289
