Junk Food for Thought: Study Directly Links Ultra-Processed Foods to Poor Health

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by MedicalXpress.

A landmark study exploring Canadians’ consumption of chips, frozen pizzas, breakfast cereals and other ultra-processed foods typically loaded with fat, sugar and additives has confirmed these foods are directly and significantly linked to poor health outcomes.

Researchers at McMaster University investigated the relationship between ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and risk factors including blood pressure, cholesterol levels (LDL and HDL), waist circumference and body mass index (BMI).

Their study is the first in Canada to leverage population-based and robust biomarker data to examine this relationship.

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, conducted by Health Canada and Statistics Canada, and were then personally assessed at mobile clinics.

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 associations persisted even after adjusting for physical activity, smoking, the total amount of food consumed and socioeconomic factors including income and education.

The study, published in the journal of Nutrition & Metabolism, 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.

“These two biomarkers indicate that these foods are causing an inflammatory response in our bodies. In a sense, this suggests that our bodies are seeing these as non-foods, as some kind of other element,” says Anthea Christoforou, an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University and senior author of the paper.

“Ultra-processed foods are impacting health across all socioeconomic groups,” says Angelina Baric, a graduate student in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster and co-author of the study.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-05-junk-food-thought-links-ultra.html