Chips, Frozen Pizza, and Sugary Cereals Linked to Serious Health Risks: Study Finds - Video

A new study has found that ultra-processed foods like chips, frozen pizzas, breakfast cereals and other foods typically loaded with fat, sugar and additives are directly and significantly linked to poor health outcomes. The findings are present in the journal of nutrition and metabolism.

The team analyzed data from more than 6,000 adults across Canada, representing a diverse range of ages, health conditions and socio-economic backgrounds. The subjects completed a questionnaire for the Canadian Health Measures Survey.

Individuals who consumed the most UPF were more likely to be men, and to have lower income levels, less education and to have reported lower fruit and vegetable intake. They had significantly higher BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, insulin, and triglyceride levels than those who consumed the least UPF.

Researchers noted that many links between UPF consumption and cardiometabolic risk factors remained significant even after adjusting for BMI, suggesting that ultra-processed foods may influence health through mechanisms beyond weight gain, such as inflammation, insulin resistance, and poor metabolic regulation – all well-established predictors of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

The study uncovered a strong association between UPF consumption and the presence of C-reactive protein (CRP), which the liver produces in response to inflammation, as well as an increase of white blood cells.

“We have this very complex food supply that is more than just the nutritional composition of a food,” explains Anthea Christoforou, an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University and senior author of the paper.

“It may be about the additives. The way the food is prepared. It's related to the packaging and the marketing of that food. All these things come together to create this food environment that really affects the healthfulness of our diets.”

Reference: Baric, A., Malik, V.S. & Christoforou, A. Ultra-processed food consumption and cardiometabolic risk in Canada: a cross-sectional analysis of the Canadian health measures survey. Nutr Metab (Lond) 22, 37 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12986-025-00935-y