The Russian Roulette of Ultra-Processed Foods

"To put our findings in perspective, a 10 percent increase in ultra-processed foods is roughly equivalent to adding a standard packet of chips to your daily diet."

"In clinical terms, this translated to consistently lower scores on standardized cognitive tests measuring visual attention and processing speed."

"Food ultra-processing often destroys the natural structure of food and introduces potentially harmful substances like artificial additives or processing chemicals."

"These additives suggest the link between diet and cognitive function extends beyond just missing out on foods known as healthy, pointing to mechanisms linked to the degree of food processing itself."

Dr. Barbara Cardoso, Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, Victorian Heart Institute, Monash University, Australia 

Adding ultraprocessed foods may add to risk of dementia  Getty Images

 

A  diet high in ultra-processed foods (UPFs), according to a new study from Monash University in Australia, may increase the risk of developing dementia. Published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, the study analyzed over 2,100 Australians for their diets and cognitive health. The study group was comprised of dementia-free adults between ages 40 to 70 from November of 2015 to December of 2023.

 

A daily increase of as minimal as 10 percent of ultra-processed foods in an intake alongside healthy whole foods was demonstrated to be linked to a drop in attention span, irrespective of an otherwise healthy overall diet. Based on the average food intake of the Australian population, a 10 percent increase in UPF corresponds, according to the study, to approximately 150 g/day.

 

Ultra-processed foods contain ingredients such as preservatives, emulsifiers, sweeteners, fats and artificial colouring, all of which alter the composition of whole foods with their addition as they go through multiple processing techniques such as moulding and extrusion. These food products include potato chips, energy drinks, hotdogs, fast food and  candy, among many others.

 

According to research in Canada conducted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation, close to half of people's daily caloric intake represent ultra-processed foods. Higher UPF consumption, the new study affirms, is linked to an increase in risk factors for developing dementia. Health conditions such as high blood pressure and obesity are also included as health risks due to the consumption of UPFs.  

 

Ultra-processed foods. Credit:Lauri Patterson/Getty Images

 

Each 10-precent increase in UPF intake was associated with lower attention scores and higher dementia risk even among people who adhered otherwise to a healthy Mediterranean-style diet, according to the study results. A direct association between UPFs and memory loss however, did not result from the study findings, which noted that attention span signals many vital brain functions such as learning and problem-solving.

 

Ultra-processed food consumption has been associated to date, with over 30 adverse health outcomes, noted the research out of Monash University. The recently published study results add to a growing body of research that link UPF consumption to adverse brain health. 

 

Harald Walker / Stocksy United

 

Move Away From Pre-Processed Foods ... Study

 

"There seems to be growing evidence that there is a cogent reason to think about limiting one's intake of ultra-processed food."

 "It gives us some clues into the potential role of diet in the development of early-onset colorectal cancer precursor lesions. And I think it is probably the best available data we have now."

"[The average colon polyp has a five percent risk of developing into cancer] but we think even the smallest, most benign polyps probably have some malignant potential if they're left in place without any treatment. That risk becomes much greater as the polyp gets bigger."

"We wanted to know if these things [growing cancer statistics among young people and diet] were related. Is it possible that some of the rising incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer could be explained by our increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods?"

Andrew T. Chan, gastroenterologist, Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute

 

"[The study findings add] to the growing body of evidence that following a balanced healthy diet is important for many chronic diseases."

Sarah Berry, professor of nutritional sciences, King's College London

 

 

There has been no end of research and studies on the effect of processed, pre-prepared food in our diets. The public has been cautioned countless times of the deleterious effects related to a diet scarce on whole foods and heavily dependent on pre-processed foodstuffs. That among the cautions is the fact that these foods are loaded with salt, sugar and fat in excess. Not to mention chemical additives. The battery of whole foods available for general consumption give us greater nutrients in forms the human body processes for health and good digestion, containing minerals and vitamins and roughage.

 

A diet heavy in pre-prepared foods most often leads to overweight and obesity, which in turn leads to the potential of developing Type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease. This new study points a finger directly at colorectal cancer as a potential outcome from relying on convenience foods. Moderation is the key to the dilemma. A minimal level of processed food consumption alongside a wide range of whole foods is a much safer, healthier and reliable eating pattern for good health.

 

The observational study in which Drs. Chan and Berry were involved found women who reported nine to t en daily servings of ultra-processed foods, having a 45 percent greater likelihood of developing polyps before reaching age 50, than those women who consumed a minimum of ultra-processed foods (considered to average three servings daily). The study cautions that its conclusion point to an association, without claiming a cause-and-effect relationship.

 

This study published in JAMA Oncology, links eating more ultra-processed foods with developing early colorectal polyps, which could be one answer for the rising rates of colorectal cancer in younger adults. 

The 24-year study of some 30,000 female participants in the Harvard-led Nurses Health Study II saw

participants self-reporting responses on food questionnaires every four years, where the highest consumption group consumed roughly 10 servings per day, compared with three servings in the lowest-consumption group. 

 

On average the group that ate the most UPF servings a day had a 45% greater risk of having adenomas compared with the group that ate the least. Photograph: Andriy Popov/Alamy

 

In recent decades medical professionals have recognized a steady rise in the number of people under age 50 being diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Risk factors of obesity, smoking or sedentary lifestyles do not fully account for this trend. In the North American diet, processed foods play an increasingly large part in people's daily food consumption. Scientists globally have delved into the phenomenon of obesity and the part that processed foods play in human health. This study's focus was on grappling why it is that more young people have been vulnerable to colon cancer.

 

A higher intake of  ultra-processed foods was found by the researchers to be associated with an increased risk of colon polyps appearing before women turned age 50. Why the research focused on women has not been discussed. Researchers adjusted for study participants' BMI, instances of Type 2 diabetes and other indexes surrounding diets, including the amount of fibre consumed.

 

To obtain "more simple, whole ingredients", Dalia Perelman, a Stanford University research dietitian commented that consumers would favour themselves by moving away from processed, packaged or pre-prepared meals. "It doesn't have to be complicated", she said. Select a handful of nuts rather than a bag of Cheetos, or plain oatmeal cereal rather than packaged, prepared cereals. Above all, focus more on fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains.

 

A new U.S. study published in JAMA Oncology links eating more ultra-processed foods with developing early colorectal polyps, which could be one answer for the rising rates of colorectal cancer in younger adults.

 

"Try to limit ultra-processed foods — they’re often loaded with sugar, salt and unhealthy fats, but short on nutrients. These foods can raise your risk for obesity, diabetes and even cancer, and they’re designed to make you eat more. Whenever possible, choose fresh, whole foods instead."

"The consistency of [ultra-processed food] associations across heart, brain and gut diseases suggests a real concern. Food is something we control daily, so small shifts toward whole foods can make a big difference." 

Registered dietitian Russell de Souza, associate professor and researcher, McMaster University’s Population Health Research Institute 

"We're not trying to alarm people. And we're not telling people that eating any [ultra-processed food] is going to lead to colon cancer."

"We think it's one piece of the puzzle; that there's many things that contribute to colon cancer risk and this is something to be aware of."

Dr. Andrew T. Chan 

 

"Our analyses suggest that increased energy intake has been roughly ten times more important than declining total energy expenditure in driving the modern obesity crisis."

"[In a sub-analysis of the diets of some of the groups from both highly and less-developed nations, the scientists found a strong correlation between the percentage of daily diets that consists of] ultra-processed foods -- [which the study's authors define as] industrial formulations of five or more ingredients -- [and higher body-fat percentages]." 

Study on Obesity Factors, Duke University, North Carolina

The research, published in PNAS, suggests diet, not inactivity, is the primary driver behind increasing obesity rates in developed countries. (Photo by Anastasia Shuraeva)

 

"Despite decades of trying to understand the root causes of the obesity crisis in economically developed countries, public health guidance remains stuck with uncertainty as to the relative importance of diet and physical activity."

"This large, international, collaborative effort allows us to test these competing ideas. It’s clear that changes in diet, not reduced activity, are the main cause of obesity in the U.S. and other developed countries."

Herman Pontzer, principal investigator with the Pontzer Lab, professor, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University

 

"While we saw a marginal decrease in size-adjusted total energy expenditure with economic development, differences in total energy expenditure explained only a fraction of the increase in body fat that accompanied development."

"This suggests that other factors, such as dietary changes, are driving the increases in body fat that we see with increasing economic development."

Amanda McGrosky, Duke postdoctoral alumna, study lead investigator, assistant professor of biology, Elon University 

Professor Herman Pontzer and his co-authors, 80 in number, set out to gather data on obesity from labs globally. Data for 4,213 men and women representing 34 countries or cultural groups resulted, representing the full spectrum of socioeconomic groups. Total daily energy expenditures for everyone  was calculated, along with their basal energy expenditure (number of calories burned during basic biological operations and physical activity energy expenditure). 

 

Few large-scale studies have focused on comparing energy expenditure among populations among whom obesity appears common, as opposed to those resistant to obesity. Dr. Pontzer noted that understanding the relative contributions of diet and physical activity is vital if science aims at fully comprehending obesity's origins, in a bid to educate populations how best to avoid obesity and with it, the rise of diabetes, heart disease and stroke. 

 

People in traditional cultures among developing nations, do not tend to succumb to obesity. The recently published study out of Duke University sought to clarify what it was that exposed populations to greater incidents of obesity. Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), this study, using data on metabolic rates and energy expenditure among over 4,000 individuals from dozens of countries across a broad spectrum of socioeconomic conditions quantified calories that people from various cultures burn daily.

 

Common wisdom had it that people in highly developed nations are relatively sedentary, thus burn far fewer daily calories than those living in less industrialized countries, increasing the risk of obesity, and this is the message that public-health authorities have issued, in persuasive messaging on the necessity to ensure that sedentary lifestyles not take over lives, that it is critical for optimum health at all ages, to move about, exercise the body as well as consuming a healthy diet.

 

This new study finds otherwise. Concluding that Americans, Europeans and people in other developed nations expend roughly similar total calories most days, as did hunter-gatherers, herders, subsistence farmers, foragers and all those living in pre-industrialized nations. A finding that was unexpected in its conclusion that inactivity is not, after all, the major cause of obesity that it has been taken to be. 

 

It seems intuitive that comparing the energy expenditure of hunter-gatherers and farmer-herders opposite office workers would find a huge deficit on the part of the latter as opposed to the former.  It was established however that, though the hunter-gatherers and other primitive groups moved far more frequently throughout the course of a day than would a typical individual in a post-industrial society, overall daily calorie expenditure were closely analogous. 

 

A theory first proposed by Dr. Pontzer known as the constrained total energy expenditure model, posits that our brains and bodies closely monitor our total energy expenditure, keeping it within a narrow range. Should we begin consistently burning more calories for any reason for days on end, our brains slow down or shut off some tangential biological operations that sees overall daily caloric burn remaining in a consistent band.

 

The final takeaway from the study is, quite simply, the observation that within populations too much food is being consumed, in excess of the body's actual needs. As well, consuming the wrong types of food --ultra-processed, convenience and fast-food products, perhaps lacking in nutrients but packed with flavour enhancers, leading to higher body-fat outcomes. 

 

A new study concludes diet is by far the most important driver of obesity in more economically developed countries.  thebigland88/iStock

 

More than 1 billion people worldwide live with obesity, a global epidemic that health authorities have blamed on both increased consumption of calories and decreased physical activity. But which factor contributes more? After measuring the calories burned by people from different economic backgrounds and lifestyles, research published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes diet plays a far bigger role than physical inactivity in driving the epidemic—though not everyone agrees with that interpretation."

"The new study found that, when adjusted for body size, people in more economically developed societies expend relatively less energy. However, the differences are too small to explain the higher rates of obesity in these societies. Worldwide weight gains instead seem to be associated mainly with how much we consume, not how much we burn off."

"The findings align with the current conventional wisdom that increased energy intake is the primary driver of obesity and highlight the need for policies to reduce that, says Vanessa Oddo, an epidemiologist at the University of Illinois Chicago who was not involved in the work. However, she and others caution the study—which relied on computer modeling, one-off observations of study participants, and indirect measures of physical activity and diet—isn’t set up to pinpoint the epidemic’s causes."

Science Adviser