The umbrella review conducted by academics in Australia analysed 14 review articles published in the last three years which associated UPFs with poor health outcomes
Gorging on ultra-processed foods like sugary cereals, microwave meals and fizzy drinks could be hammering your mental well-being and upping the odds of heart-related deaths, a study has warned.
Experts are now calling for action to reduce exposure to these UPFs in a bid to boost public health. Packed with fats, sugars, salts, and a cocktail of chemicals, colourings, sweeteners and preservatives to keep them fresh longer, UPFs are under the microscope. A comprehensive review by Australian scholars, examining 14 articles from the past three years, has linked UPFs to nasty health outcomes.
The research encompassed a whopping 9.9 million participants, drawing data from food diaries and dietary recalls. The findings were categorised as convincing, highly suggestive, suggestive, weak or non-existent based on the strength of the evidence. The results are alarming: “convincing” evidence points to a 50% spike in cardiovascular mortality for those indulging in UPFs, alongside a 12% increase in type 2 diabetes risk, and a staggering 48-53% jump in anxiety levels.
Furthermore, “highly suggestive” evidence indicates that a diet rich in UPFs could lead to a 40-66% surge in obesity, diabetes, sleep disturbances, and heart disease mortality, not to mention a 22% hike in depression risks and a 21% uptick in overall mortality.
Researchers have stated that the link between ultra-processed food (UPF) intake and “asthma, gastrointestinal health, some cancers, and intermediate cardiometabolic risk factors remains limited and warrants further investigation,” reports the Express.
Their findings, published in The BMJ, “provide a rationale to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of using population based and public health measures to target and reduce dietary exposure to ultra-processed foods for improved human health”.
In a related editorial, academics from Brazil argued that there is “no reason exists to believe that humans can fully adapt” to UPFs, which they describe as “often chemically manipulated cheap ingredients” made appealing through the use of various additives. They concluded: “It is now time for United Nations agencies, with member states, to develop and implement a framework convention on ultra-processed foods analogous to the framework on tobacco.”