Thousands of people die prematurely as a result of ultra-processed foods, a new research has revealed.
The new study has shown a link between the consumption of these foods and the increased risk of a premature death.
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) such as ice cream, processed meats, crisps, mass-produced bread, some breakfast cereals, biscuits, and fizzy drinks, have already been linked to various health issues such as obesity, heart disease, cancer, and early death.
The study looked into diets in Britain, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Chile and the United States.
It then estimated the number of people who died and the links to over-reliance on foods such as processed meat, fizzy drinks and ready meals, The Independent reports.
Processed foods often have high levels of saturated fat, salt, sugar and additives as well as containing preservatives, emulsifiers, and artificial colours and flavours not typically found in home cooking.
But researchers say it’s not clear why these are linked to poor health.
The new study has shown a link between the consumption of these foods and the increased risk of a premature death. Picture: Stock image
They questioned whether this is because people are opting for foods high in fat, sugar and salt as opposed to more nutritious options
Published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the study includes experts calling on governments to issue dietary recommendations to slash how much these foods are consumed.
They looked at data from eight countries around the world and found UPFs reached 53 per cent of people’s energy intake in the UK – the second highest in the study after 55 per cent in the US.
Premature deaths attributable to UPFs ranged from 4 per cent of premature deaths in lower consumption settings, such as Colombia, up to 14 per cent of premature deaths in the UK and US, according to their mathematical modelling.
Study leader Eduardo Nilson, of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil, said UPFs were harmful ‘because of the changes in the foods during industrial processing and the use of artificial ingredients, including colourants (and) artificial flavours’.
The study suggests that in 2018/19, some 17,781 deaths could be linked to these foods in the UK.
Stephen Burgess, statistician in the MRC Biostatistics Unit at the University of Cambridge, warned the study could not prove cause.
He said this type of research could not link that consumption of ultra-processed food is harmful however it does show that it could lead to poor health.
He added: ‘It is possible that the true causal risk factor is not ultra-processed foods, but a related risk factor such as better physical fitness – and ultra-processed foods is simply an innocent bystander.
‘But when we see these associations replicated across many countries and cultures, it raises suspicion that ultra-processed foods may be more than a bystander.’
