Ultra-Processed Foods Tied to Potential Cancer Risk

By Kelly Young

Edited by Richard Saitz, MD, MPH, FACP, DFASAM

Eating a lot of ultra-processed foods — like mass-produced desserts, packaged bread, processed meats, and snack foods — may be associated with increased cancer risk, suggests an observational study in The BMJ.

Over 100,000 middle-aged adults in France free of cancer at baseline completed roughly five 24-hour dietary records over 2 years. During a median 5 years' follow-up, 2% were diagnosed with cancer.

After adjustment for potential risk factors like low physical activity, high lipid intake, and smoking, each 10% increase in ultra-processed food intake was associated with increased risk for overall cancer (hazard ratio, 1.13) and breast cancer (HR, 1.13).

The authors note that diets heavy in ultra-processed foods also tend to have more calories, sodium, fat, additives, sugar, and contaminants like acrylamide and bisphenol A, and less fiber and micronutrients. Editorialists say that this research "should be viewed as an initial step toward understanding the potential effect of processed foods on the health of human populations."