(NEXSTAR) — After decades of study, researchers have found that certain ultra-processed foods may shorten your lifespan.
Older adults who ate more of what researchers called “ultra-processed,” or highly processed, foods were about 10 percent more likely to die during the roughly 30-year study period, according to findings presented Sunday at the American Academy of Nutrition’s annual meeting in Chicago. People with a high intake of ultra-processed foods were at particularly high risk of death related to diabetes and heart disease, the researchers said in their findings, which have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
However, the results did not show an increase in cancer-related deaths.
The American Academy of Nutrition reported that the study involved more than 540,000 participants between the ages of 50 and 71. press release. More than half of the deaths have occurred since researchers began collecting self-reported dietary data in the mid-1990s.
The researchers NOVA Classification System It divides foods into four categories: 1) unprocessed or minimally processed foods, 2) processed ingredients (oil, butter, etc.), 30 processed foods (usually category 1 foods that have been modified or enhanced with category 2 ingredients), and ultra-processed foods, which use ingredients made by industrial processes and are rarely used in home cooking.
The researchers said two types of ultra-processed foods were “stronger” associated with adverse effects.
“Highly processed meats and soft drinks were the subgroups of ultra-processed foods most strongly associated with mortality risk, and diets low in these foods are already recommended for disease prevention and health promotion,” said lead author Dr. Erica Loftfield of the National Cancer Institute.
Representatives for the research group were not immediately available to comment on the specific types of soft drinks or processed meats Loftfield was referring to, but the group said ultra-processed foods, as defined in the NOVA classification system, include sugar- and artificially sweetened soft drinks, as well as sausages, hot dogs, chicken and fish nuggets and other “restructured meat products.” who.
While Loftfield acknowledged that the study doesn’t determine causation, the researchers said the findings hold up to scrutiny, given the participants’ other unhealthy characteristics, such as obesity and smoking. In other words, even among participants with lifestyles considered healthier, those who reported eating more ultra-processed foods had an increased risk of death.
The American Academy of Nutrition noted that the study itself had not been peer-reviewed, and had only been “evaluated and selected for publication” based on the opinion of an “expert committee.” The study authors also said that the topic needed further study, in part because of changes in American diets since the study began.
In addition to studies on processed foods, studies discussed at Nutrition 2024 also included studies on preventing weight gain associated with menopause. Sauna availableReduced medical costs Personalized meals It may even form a nutritious diet for people with diabetes and heart disease. From ultra-processed foods.
