Study Ties Small Daily Serving of Ultra-Processed Food to Higher Disease Risk

An extra 3.5 ounces of ultra-processed food eaten each day is linked to a meaningfully higher risk of chronic disease, according to a large-scale analysis published Sept. 22 in the journal Family Medicine and Community Health.

The study examined data from nearly 8.8 million adults across studies conducted in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania, with follow-up periods ranging from two to 32 years.

Researchers found that for every additional 100 grams of ultra-processed food consumed daily, there was an associated 14% higher risk of cardiovascular events, a 4% higher risk of cancer, a 3% higher risk of death from any cause, and a 2% higher risk of metabolic syndrome or diabetes, according to a news release. For reference, 100 grams is roughly the size of a 3.5-ounce bag of corn chips, a small box of candy, or a single-serve cup of mini cookies.

Ultra-processed foods are typically packaged, convenient products made through extensive industrial processing and often loaded with additives — think sugary drinks, processed meats, packaged snacks and candy. The study also found that people with the highest intake of these foods faced greater risks of digestive diseases, depression or anxiety, obesity, cancer and cardiovascular events compared with those who ate the least.

The research was led by Xiao Liu, a cardiologist at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital in China and a research fellow at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore.

“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,” the researchers wrote.

Kelly Springer, a New York-based registered dietitian and founder of Kelly’s Choice who was not involved in the research, said the core problem with ultra-processed foods is what they push out of the diet.

“It’s not that you can never eat them again,” Springer said. “It’s the fact that we are not getting real foods — real foods like fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, whole grains.”

Rather than focusing on eliminating foods outright, Springer recommended adding protein and fiber to meals and snacks — an apple with peanut butter, nuts with cucumbers, or meals built around beans, chicken or tuna alongside fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

“A diet built around whole, minimally processed foods is one of the best investments we can make in our long-term health,” she added.

Springer noted the study was observational, meaning it cannot prove that ultra-processed foods directly caused the health outcomes observed. It also relied on participants’ self-reported diets and may not fully account for other lifestyle factors. Even so, she said the findings underscore the link between ultra-processed food consumption and chronic disease risk.