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Processed food
Ultra-processed foods and cardiovascular disease risk
Strong evidenceIndependentThe BMJ, 2019
Sample size
105,159
participants
Study duration
5 years
Study type
Prospective cohort
Plain English summary
Large-scale cohort studies consistently show that high consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with significantly elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, even after adjusting for overall calorie intake and nutritional profile.
Key findings
- Each 10% increase in UPF consumption was associated with a 12% higher cardiovascular disease risk in a cohort of 105,159 participants
- Participants in the highest UPF consumption quartile showed 25% greater risk of coronary heart disease
- Effects were independent of BMI, smoking status, and physical activity levels
- The association held across multiple food subtypes including ready meals, packaged snacks, and sugary drinks