Overview
- In Italy’s long-running Moli-sani cohort, cancer survivors in the highest third of ultra-processed food intake had a 48% higher all-cause mortality and a 59% higher cancer mortality than those in the lowest third.
- The association held over a median 14.6 years of follow-up after adjusting for smoking, body mass index, activity, medical history, cancer type, and overall diet quality.
- Analyses of biomarkers indicated that inflammation and elevated resting heart rate partially mediated the link, attenuating the association with all-cause death by 37.3% when accounted for.
- Results were consistent when intake was measured by calories for cancer deaths, though the calorie-based measure did not predict non-cancer mortality as clearly.
- Separately, a Milbank Quarterly paper from Harvard, Duke, and Michigan researchers argued ultra-processed foods are engineered to drive overconsumption and recommended policies such as clear labeling, higher taxes, school and hospital limits, and restrictions on child-targeted marketing, prompting expert cautions about causality and tobacco analogies.