Higher UPF intake linked to heightened risk of multiple chronic health issues + death

Every extra 100 g consumed associated with correspondingly greater risks

A higher ultra processed food (UPF) intake is linked to a heightened risk of several major chronic health issues, such as digestive diseases, high blood pressure, and metabolic syndrome/diabetes, as well as death, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published in the open access journal Family Medicine and Community Health.

Every extra 100 g consumed was associated with correspondingly greater risks, the analysis indicates.

Ultra processed foods are defined as ready-to-eat or heat-and-serve products that have undergone extensive industrial processing. Typically, they contain a range of additives, are energy-dense and high in sugar and salt, but low in dietary fibre, protein, vitamins, and minerals, explain the researchers.

Amid a sharp rise in global UPF consumption in recent decades, the researchers wanted to find out if there are any safe consumption levels and where the potential threshold levels for ill health might lie.

They therefore scoured research databases for relevant studies published up to the end of April 2026. Some 51 prospective cohort studies met their eligibility criteria for inclusion in the pooled data analysis.

The studies, from the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, involved 8,819,894 participants whose average ages ranged from 23 to 77. The monitoring periods ranged from 2 to 32 years.

UPF consumption was assessed by food frequency questionnaires, 24-hour dietary recall, or dietary history in the included studies. And to assess the potential impact of exposure on health, the researchers converted g/day of UPF intake into 50 g servings.

They focused on the following health outcomes: high blood pressure; cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke, transient ischaemic attacks or ‘mini strokes’, coronary artery disease, cardiovascular death); cancer events, including death from cancer; metabolic syndrome/diabetes; digestive diseases; obesity/overweight; depression/anxiety; and death from any cause.

Pooled data analysis of the results of the included studies showed that higher UPF consumption was associated with greater risks of multiple chronic health issues and death from any cause, with risks rising in tandem with the quantity consumed.

Eating a lot of ultra processed foods was associated with higher risks of cardiovascular events (24%), cancer (12%), obesity/overweight (23%), metabolic syndrome/diabetes (24%), depression/anxiety (27%), digestive diseases (31%), high blood pressure (11%) and death from any cause (18%).

Further analyses showed that each additional 100 g/day consumed was associated with greater risks of cardiovascular events (14%), cancer (4%), death from any cause (3%), and metabolic syndrome/diabetes (2%).

And every 10% increase in weight/energy intake was associated with a 16% greater risk of metabolic syndrome/diabetes.

Emerging evidence suggests that the combination of multiple additives may exert a ‘cocktail effect’ on human health, while lab studies have shown that the extensively altered physical composition of UPFs may adversely affect the gut microbiome, and promote inflammation and insulin resistance, among other things, point out the researchers.

Several compounds that may form during food processing, such as acrylamide—a contaminant formed in heat-treated processed foods—and acrolein, generated during fat heating—have been associated with a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease, they add.

The researchers acknowledge various limitations to their findings, including the reliance of all the included studies on subjective dietary assessments, and the exclusion of participants under the age of 18.

And UPF intake often happens in the context of broader lifestyle and behavioural patterns that are difficult to fully adjust for and which may influence long-term health risks, including death, they highlight.

“Given that UPF related chronic diseases often cluster as multimorbidity, reducing consumption of UPFs and replacing them with minimally processed alternatives may be relevant for chronic disease prevention and primary care management,” they conclude.

22/09/2026

Notes for editors
The findings were first presented at the 2025 Annual Meeting of American College of Cardiology Asia.

Research: Ultra-processed food consumption and risk of multiple chronic diseases among 8,819,894 adults from 51 prospective cohorts: a dose- response meta- analysis Doi: 10.1136/fmch-2026-003925

Journal: Family Medicine and Community Health

External funding: Natural Science Foundation of China; Natural Science Foundation in Jiangxi Province; Jiangxi Province Thousands of Plan

About the journal
Family Medicine and Community Health is one of more than 80 journals published by BMJ Group. The title is owned by the Beijing Huawei General Practice Research Institute (BHGPRI).
https://fmch.bmj.com

Link to Academy of Medical Sciences labelling system
http://press.psprings.co.uk/AMSlabels.pdf

Externally peer reviewed? Yes
Evidence type: Meta-analysis
Subjects: People