Overview
- Researchers studied more than 2,100 dementia-free Australian adults, whose diets averaged 41% of energy from ultra-processed foods, and checked their attention and processing speed.
- A small increase in ultra-processed foods was tied to lower attention and slower thinking on standardized tests, with a 10% rise equal to about one daily packet of chips.
- The link appeared regardless of overall diet quality, including among people who followed Mediterranean-style eating patterns.
- Higher ultra-processed intake aligned with more dementia risk factors such as high blood pressure and obesity, but the study did not show a direct link to memory loss or diagnosed dementia.
- Authors suggest processing itself may play a role because it breaks down food structure and adds emulsifiers and other additives, and they caution that the cross-sectional design shows association rather than cause.