Americans love ultra-processed food! Things that come in a box or a bag take up tremendous shelf space in our supermarkets and convenience stores. Think: candy, crackers, Doritos, Oreos and Fritos, not to mention potato chips. Such treats also account for a high proportion of calories in our diet.
Who Loves Ultra-Processed Food?
Although we often picture young people consuming a lot of these foods, older folks are not immune. According to a National Poll on Healthy Aging conducted by the University of Michigan, 13% of people over 50 can’t stop eating highly processed foods. The poll included 2,163 people between 50 and 80 years old and was nationally representative. Although 1 out of 8 confessed two or more symptoms of food addiction, the problem is actually much bigger. To wit, 44% of the respondents had at least one symptom such as intense cravings or an inability to cut back on salty snacks, sugary drinks or fatty foods.
What Are the Health Consequences of Eating Processed Snacks?
Two studies in The BMJ show some of the hazards of eating lots of ultra-processed foods. Read to the bottom for critical information on how fast food can affect liver health.
Men Eating Ultra-Processed Food Are More Prone to Colorectal Cancer:
One analysis utilized data from three long-running cohort studies of health care professionals (BMJ, Aug. 31, 2022). (You may recognize them as the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, the Nurses’ Health Study and the Nurses’ Health Study 2.) More than 46,000 male health professionals and nearly 160,000 female nurses answered detailed dietary questionnaires every four years and provided health information.
The scientists followed these conscientious subjects for an average of about 25 years. Men who ate the most ultra-processed food had a 29 percent greater chance of developing colorectal cancer during that time. Highly processed meat, chicken or seafood products and sugar-sweetened beverages were particular culprits for these men. Perhaps beef jerky and chicken nuggets should be limited to very occasional snacks.
Oddly, the researchers did not detect a higher risk among women who ate the most ultra-processed food. However, they noticed a trend towards a higher cancer risk among women consuming more ready-to-heat or ready-to-eat foods. The scientists did need to make statistical adjustments for the fact that both men and women who ate more junk food were also likely to be smokers and less likely to exercise regularly.
Although the investigators are cautious about the conclusions they draw, they note:
“Such findings support the recommendation by the World Cancer Research Fund International/American Institute for Cancer Research to limit the intake of ‘fast foods’ for the primary prevention of cancer.”
Italians Fare Poorly on Junk Food, Too:
A second publication analyzed the diets of nearly 23,000 Italians over 14 years (BMJ, Aug. 31, 2022). (This was another large prospective study called Moli-sani.) People who ate the most ultra-processed food were 19 percent more likely to die during that time. Their risk of dying from a heart attack or other cardiovascular cause was actually 32 percent higher than that of the folks who ate the least processed foods.
The researchers analyzing these data observe
“A significant proportion of the higher mortality risk associated with an elevated intake of nutrient poor foods was explained by a high degree of food processing.”
Because these are both observational studies, they can’t establish cause and effect. However, an editorial in the same issue (BMJ, Aug. 31, 2022) argues that governments should make fresh, minimally processed foods accessible and affordable to promote the public health. Too often public policies designed to make food cheap does not take quality into account.
Fast Food and Fatty Livers:
In addition, fast food may be responsible for a troubling rise in fatty liver disease. To learn this, researchers analyzed data from people who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for 2017-2018 (Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Jan. 10, 2023). They measured liver fat in 4,000 adults using a technique called vibration-controlled transient elastography. Stiffness indicates the amount of fat stored in the liver (Biomolecules, May 2022).
The investigators also queried participants about their fast food consumption. More than half ate ultra-processed food at least occasionally. For 29%, fast food provided at least a fifth of their daily calories. These individuals tended to be younger and to drink more soda and less coffee. Most importantly, they were significantly more likely to have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This serious condition can lead to scarring, liver cancer or even liver failure.
The researchers conclude:
“Ultimately, public health efforts are needed to reduce consumption of nutrient-poor, highly caloric foods and improve access to healthier, nutritious food options in the U.S.”
Learn More:
Dr. Robert Lustig has been writing and speaking about the dangers of ultra-processed food for more than a decade. You may wish to listen to our interviews with him. Start with Show 947: Why Overdosing on Sugar Could Be Killing You. You may also wish to listen to Show 1145: Are Big Corporations Hacking the American Mind? He is equally clear in Show 1332: What Everyone Gets Wrong About Weight Loss.
