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+--- Thread: Research Ultra-processed foods have disturbing health effects, large review finds (/thread-15522.html)
Ultra-processed foods have disturbing health effects, large review finds - C C - Mar 1, 2024
https://gizmodo.com/ultra-processed-foods-health-effects-depression-sleep-1851298904
INTRO: A lifetime of snacking and frozen food dinners may affect your body in lots of surprising ways, new research suggests. The study, a large-scale review of the existing evidence, found an association between regularly eating ultra-processed foods and a higher risk of many health problems. It also found that these foods were associated with an early death.
Many studies have indicated that ultra-processed foods are uniquely bad for our health. But the authors of this latest research, published Wednesday in the BMJ, say there hasn’t yet been a comprehensive, bird’s-eye view of the scientific literature surrounding these foods. To remedy that, they decided to conduct an “umbrella review”—a review of other reviews and meta-analyses on a particular topic.
All told, the team looked at data from 14 reviews that collectively involved nearly 10 million people, none of which were funded by manufacturers of ultra-processed foods. Across the board, they found that a higher exposure to these foods was associated with a higher risk of 32 health outcomes, from heart disease to trouble sleeping to depression. Greater intake of ultra-processed foods was also tied to a greater risk of dying from any cause (21% higher), as well as a greater risk of heart-related death specifically (66% higher).
“This umbrella review found consistent evidence of a higher risk of adverse health outcomes associated with greater ultra-processed food exposure,” the authors wrote... (MORE - details)