Ultra-processed foods linked to higher mortality
Menée aux Etats-Unis à partir de données portant sur 74 563 femmes et 39 501 hommes sans antécédent de cancer (durées médianes de suivi : 34 et 31 ans), cette étude de cohorte analyse l'association entre une consommation d'aliments ultra-transformés et la mortalité, notamment par cancer
Debate about the “ultra-processed” concept must not delay food policies that improve health. As research into ultra-processed food gains momentum,1 so too does the debate.234 Foods that fall into the ultra-processed category according to the Nova classification are heterogeneous and include carbonated soft drinks, confectionary, extruded snack foods, distilled alcohol (spirits), and mass produced packaged wholegrain bread.5 Ultra-processed foods are typically high in energy, added sugar, saturated fat, and salt, and a major criticism of previous studies is that they have not disentangled the effects of processing, per se, from the nutrient profile of food products. The linked paper by Fang and colleagues (doi:10.1136/bmj-2023-078476) addresses this concern and others, in their evaluation of the relation between ultra-processed food consumption and mortality in two large US cohort studies