Ultra-processed foods have long held a bad reputation for having lots of calories, sugar, fat and salt — now, UK researchers have identified the four types most likely to lead to Type 2 diabetes.
The highest-risk UPFs are savory snacks, animal-based products such as processed meats, ready-to-eat meals and beverages sweetened by sugar or an artificial substitute, according to a study published Sunday in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe.
“This study … confirms that not all foods categorized as UPF are alike in terms of the health risks associated with them,” said senior author Rachel Batterham, a professor of obesity, diabetes and endocrinology at the University College London.
The researchers analyzed the UPF consumption of nearly 312,000 people from eight European countries. The participants were tracked for around 11 years on average — during that time, almost 15,000 developed Type 2 diabetes.
The study authors linked every 10% increase in UPFs to a 17% rise in diabetes risk.
Participants could lower this risk by substituting unprocessed or minimally processed foods (MPFs) — such as eggs, milk and fruit — or processed foods (PFs) — such as tinned fish, cheese, salted nuts, artisanal breads and preserved fruits and vegetables.
The researchers divided UPFs into nine groups:
- Breads, biscuits and breakfast cereals
- Sauces, spreads and condiments
- Sweets and desserts
- Savory snacks
- Plant-based alternatives
- Animal-based products
- Ready-to-eat/heat mixed dishes
- Artificially and sugar-sweetened beverages
- Alcoholic drinks
- Other UPFs
Among the people who ate the most UPFs — where these foods made up nearly a quarter of their diet — sweetened beverages accounted for nearly 40% of their UPF intake and 9% of their overall diet.
High amounts of sugar in the blood have been shown to damage cells, spurring chronic inflammation, which has been associated with heart disease, diabetes, liver disease and cancer.
On the other side, the authors of the new study found UPF breads, biscuits and breakfast cereals, sweets and desserts, and plant-based alternatives were associated with lower incidence of diabetes.
“Breads and cereals, for example, are a staple of many people’s diets,” Batterham said. “Based on our results, I think we should treat them differently to savory snacks or sugary drinks in terms of the dietary advice we provide.”
Obesity and Type 2 diabetes are widespread public health crises in the US, so dietary choices are top of mind.
“The findings from this study add to the growing body of research that links consumption of UPF with higher risk of certain chronic diseases including obesity, cardiometabolic diseases and some cancers,” said Marc Gunter, an author of the study from Imperial College London.
Gunter added: “While such a study cannot determine causal relationships, it does suggest that reducing consumption of some UPF and replacing them with unprocessed, whole foods, might lower risk of Type 2 diabetes. Further research to understand mechanisms and potential causal pathways is now needed.”
The UCL team is conducting a trial to assess UPFs versus MPFs, with results expected to be published next year.
Meanwhile, a recent Harvard study found that sugary or artificially sweetened drinks and processed meats may raise your risk of heart disease more than other UPFs.
Savory snacks, cold cereals and yogurt/dairy-based desserts were associated with a lower heart disease risk, and ultra-processed bread and cold cereals were linked to a lower stroke risk.
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