Processed Foods Raise Premature Death Risk by 3% 

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Processed Foods Raise Premature Death Risk by 3% 
Processed Foods Raise Premature Death Risk by 3% 

United States: The analysis of 240,000 people shows our chances of early death become greater as we consume more highly processed foods within our diet. 

How do experts explain this? 

According to the study coauthor Carlos Augusto Monteiro, emeritus professor of nutrition and public health in the School of Public Health at Brazil’s University of São Paulo, “We looked at the risk of a person dying from eating more ultra-processed foods between the ages of 30 and 69, a time when it would be premature to die,” CNN Health reported. 

“We found that for each 10% increase in total calories from ultra-processed foods, the risk of dying prematurely rose by nearly 3%,” as per Monteiro, who coined the term “ultra-processed” in 2009 while developing NOVA, a system of classifying foods into four groups by their level of processing. 

The first category in the NOVA system includes authentic foods in their basic state, like fruits, vegetables, meat, and milk alongside eggs. 

Processed Foods Raise Premature Death Risk by 3% 
Processed Foods Raise Premature Death Risk by 3% 

Culinary ingredients that comprise salt together with herbs and oils fall under group two. 

Processed foods classified as group three contain both unprocessed whole foods and culinary ingredients. 

For instance, canned products along with frozen vegetables come under this section. Group four includes ultra-processed foods. 

Debate Sparks Over Public Health 

The definition established by Monteiro signifies that ultra-processed foods have minimal to no content of genuine whole foods. 

However, they are manufactured from “chemically manipulated cheap ingredients” and often use “synthetic additives to make them edible, palatable and habit-forming.” 

Furthermore, “No reason exists to believe that humans can fully adapt to these products,” as Monteiro cowrote in a 2024 editorial in the journal The BMJ. 

“The body may react to them as useless or harmful, so its systems may become impaired or damaged, depending on their vulnerability and the amount of ultra-processed food consumed,” Monteiro noted. 

The research findings, according to Sarah Gallo of the Consumer Brands Association, create inaccurate information that will result in consumer confusion regarding food products. 

“Demonizing convenient, affordable and shelf ready food and beverage products could limit access to and cause avoidance of nutrient-dense foods,” as per Gallo, stating further, “resulting in decreased diet quality, increased risk of foodborne illness and exacerbated health disparities.”