The consumption of ultra -prosecuted foods, such as sugary drinks, fried potatoes and packaged cookies, may be associated with adverse health results, according to an investigation that occurs in the 2025 ACC Asia together with SCS 36th Annual scientific meeting that will take place from May 9 to 11 in Singapore. This risk of hypertension, other cardiovascular events, cancer, digestive diseases, mortality and more, increased with every 100 grams of ultra -processed foods consumed every day.
“Ultraprocessed foods are characterized by high sugar, high salt and other non-nutritious components, which exhibit low nutritional density but high caloric content,” said Xiao Liu, MD, of the Department of Cardiology at the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital Hospital of the Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China. “These products can contribute to adverse health results through multiple mechanisms, including, among others, the deregulation of blood lipid profiles, alterations in the composition of intestinal microbiota, promotion of obesity, induction of systemic inflammation, exacerbation of oxidative stress and the deterioration of sensitivity to insulin.”
The systematic review included 41 studies of prospective cohorts covered by the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania that evaluates the association between ultra -processed foods and health results before April 2024. Taken together, studies involved a total of 8,286,940 adult patients of 18 years or more of the general population (30.8% men, 69.2% female).
All included studies used the Nova Food Classification System to define ultraprocessed foods such as industrially manufactured food products derived from natural foods or other organic components. These products experience extensive processing in several stages and generally contain significant amounts of food additives, including preservatives, dyes and flavors. According to researchers, common examples of ultraprocessed foods include commercially produced breads, sugary drinks, french fries, chocolate confectionery, sweets, packaged cookies, etc.
The study found that the consumption of ultra processing was associated with hypertension, cardiovascular events, cancer, digestive diseases and mortality from all causes. Every 100 g/additional day of ultra -processing food consumption was associated with a risk of hypertension of 14.5% higher, 5.9% higher risk of cardiovascular events, 1.2% higher cancer risk, 19.5% higher risk of digestive diseases and 2.6% higher risk of mortality due to all causes. The researchers also observed a greater risk of obesity/overweight, metabolic syndromes/diabetes and depression/anxiety.
The researchers used the classification of the evaluation of the recommendations, the development and the evaluation system (grade) to evaluate the quality of the evidence included in the analysis. The degree evaluation indicated a high to moderate certainty for most results, except low certainty for metabolic syndrome/diabetes.
“Doctors should clearly explain that ultraprocessed foods are usually high in added sugars, sodium and unhealthy fats, while they are low in fiber, essential vitamins and other protective nutrients. This nutritional imbalance contributes to a wide range of adverse health results,” Liu said. “Emerging evidence suggests a dose-response relationship between ultra-process food consumption and negative health results, which means that the more ultra processed foods are consumed, the greater the health risk will be. Therefore, reduce the intake of ultra processed foods, even modestly, can offer measurable health benefits.”
According to researchers, governments can consider the implementation of measures to reduce the consumption of ultra -process foods and mitigate the associated health impacts. Some suggested measures include the establishment of strict food labeling regulations, which require manufacturers to provide dissemination of explicit and comprehensive ingredients, particularly detailing all additives present in ultra -processed foods, Liu said. Doctors should also encourage patients to gradually reduce their ultraprocess food intake, replacing them with more nutritious and minimally processed foods.
While the study was limited in generalization and comparability by different definitions of ultraprocessed foods, Liu said the findings are not just about what to avoid, but also what to hug. Emerging evidence has linked health benefits with whole foods, simple ingredients and culturally appropriate healthy eating patterns, such as the Mediterranean or board diet, he said. More high quality studies are needed on this topic.