Ultraprocessed foods linked to premature deaths

Ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), have highest consumption in modern world as they are ready-to-eat-or-heat industrial formulations made with ingredients extracted from foods or synthesized in laboratories, that have gradually been replacing traditional foods and meals made from fresh and minimally processed ingredients in many countries.

A new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier, has found that increased consumption of these foods was associated with more than 10% of all-cause premature, preventable deaths in Brazil in 2019, although Brazilians consume far less of these products than countries with high incomes.

Researchers modeled data from nationally representative dietary surveys to estimate baseline intakes of UPFs by sex- and age-group. Statistical analyses were used to estimate the proportion of total deaths that were attributable to the consumption of Ultraprocessed foods and the impact of reducing intake of Ultraprocessed foods by 10%, 20%, and 50% within those age groups, using data from 2019. Across all age groups and sex strata, consumption of Ultraprocessed foods ranged from 13% to 21% of total food intake in Brazil during the period studied. A total of 541,260 adults aged 30 to 69 died prematurely in 2019, of whom 261,061 were from preventable, noncommunicable diseases.

The model found that approximately 57,000 deaths that year could be attributed to the consumption of Ultraprocessed foods, which corresponded to 10.5% of all premature deaths and 21.8% of all deaths from preventable noncommunicable diseases in adults aged 30 to 69. The investigators suggested that in high income countries such as the United States, Canada, the UK, and Australia, where Ultraprocessed foods account for more than half of total caloric intake, the estimated impact would be even higher.

Reducing consumption of UPFs by 10% to 50% could potentially prevent approximately 5,900 to 29,300 premature deaths in Brazil each year.

In conclusion researchers said consumption of Ultraprocessed foods is associated with many disease outcomes, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, some cancers, and other diseases, and it represents a significant cause of preventable and premature deaths among Brazilian adults.

Reference:

Ultraprocessed foods linked to premature deaths; ELSEVIER, JOURNAL American Journal of Preventive Medicine; DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2022.08.013.