Overview
- Published Tuesday in Radiology, the analysis used thigh MRIs and food questionnaires from 615 adults at risk for knee osteoarthritis.
- Higher intake of ultra-processed foods was tied to more fat inside thigh muscles regardless of calories, physical activity, or body mass index.
- Intramuscular fat refers to fat replacing muscle fibers, which weakens strength and can increase stress on the knee joint.
- Associations were stronger when models adjusted for abdominal circumference instead of BMI, suggesting central fat distribution may play a role.
- The authors stress the study cannot prove cause-and-effect and call for trials that test diet quality and low‑impact exercise, noting these foods supply over half of U.S. adult calories.