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According to a new study of more than 197,000 people in the UK, eating more junk food increases the risk of developing and dying from cancer.
Processed foods include canned soups, stews, frozen pizza, and ready-to-eat meals, as well as hot dogs, sausages, French fries, sodas, store-bought cookies, cakes, candies, donuts, ice cream, and more.
“Highly processed foods are produced with industrially derived ingredients and often use food additives to improve color, flavor, consistency, texture, or extend shelf life,” said the first author. Kiara Chang, National Health and Care Research Fellow at Imperial College London School of Public Health, said in a statement.
“Our bodies may not respond the same way to these highly processed ingredients and additives as they do to fresh, nutritious minimally processed foods,” Chang said.
However, people who eat highly processed foods also “tend to drink more beverages and tea and coffee, and less vegetables and other foods associated with a healthy diet,” says Duane Mellor, a registered dietitian and senior educator. Fellow at Aston Medical School in Birmingham, UK via email.
“This may not be a specific effect of highly processed foods, but rather reflects the effects of eating healthy foods,” said Mellor, who was not involved in the study.
The study, published Tuesday in the journal Clinical Medicine, looked at the relationship between eating superfoods and 34 different types of cancer over a 10-year period.
Researchers examined data on the dietary habits of 197,426 people who are part of the UK Biobank, a large biomedical database and research resource. Residents from 2006 to 2010
The proportion of people consuming ultra-processed foods in the study ranged from a low of 9.1% to a high of 41.4%. Their diet, the study found.
Dietary patterns were then compared to both diagnosis and cancer mortality listed in medical records.
Every 10% increase in ultra-processed food consumption is associated with a 2% increase in the risk of any cancer and a 19% increase in the risk of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Statement by Imperial College London.
Cancer deaths have also increased, the study says. For each additional 10% increase in ultrasound food consumption, the risk of dying from any cancer increased by 6%, and the risk of dying from ovarian cancer increased by 30%.
“These associations persisted after adjustment for various socio-demographics, smoking status, physical activity and major dietary factors,” the authors wrote.
Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women It kills more than any other cancer of the female reproductive system.” The American Cancer Society announced.
“The findings add to previous research showing a link between high levels of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in the diet and the risk of obesity, heart attack, stroke and type 2 diabetes,” said nutrition scientist Simon Stinson. A charity supported in part by food producers and manufacturers, the British Nutrition Foundation. Stenson was not involved in the new study.
“However, an important limitation of these earlier studies and the new analysis published today is that the findings are observational and therefore do not provide evidence of a clear causal relationship between UPFs and cancer or the risk of other diseases,” Stenson said. email.
People who ate the most processed foods were “younger and less likely to have a family history of cancer,” wrote Chang and her colleagues.
High consumers of highly processed foods are less likely to exercise and more likely to be classified as obese. These people have low family income and education and live in very poor communities, the study says.
Dr Esther Vamos, lead author of the study and a clinical senior lecturer at Imperial College London’s School of Public Health, said: “This study adds to the growing body of evidence that highly processed foods can have a negative impact on our health and our risk of cancer.” In the description.
This latest research is not the first to show a link between processed foods and cancer.
A 2022 study We examined the diets of more than 200,000 men and women in the United States for 28 years and found a link between highly processed foods and colon cancer. The third most diagnosed cancer in the United States – In men, but not women.
“There are hundreds of studies linking ultrasound-processed foods to obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease and overall mortality,” says Marion Nessl, professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. He previously told CNN..
The new UK-based study can’t prove why, but the association only notes that “other evidence suggests that reducing the amount of highly processed foods in our diet may provide important health benefits.” he said.
“More research is needed to confirm these findings and to understand the best public health strategies to reduce the prevalence and harm of highly processed foods in our diets,” she added.