Consuming large amounts of ultra-processed food (UPF) increases the risk of an early death, according to a international study that has reignited calls for a crackdown on UPF.

Each 10% extra intake of UPF, such as bread, cakes and ready meals, increases someone’s risk of dying before they reach 75 by 3%, according to research in countries including the US and England.

UPF is so damaging to health that it is implicated in as many as one in seven of all premature deaths that occur in some countries, according to a paper in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

They are associated with 124,107 early deaths in the US a year and 17,781 deaths every year in England, the review of dietary and mortality data from eight countries found.

  • AItoothbrush@lemmy.zip
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    7 hours ago

    The fuck does “ultra processed food” mean? Isnt upf defined by it harming you? Its like saying weapons harm you when weapon is the name for something that is used to harm others.

    • rumba@lemmy.zip
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      2 hours ago

      It should be more appropriately labeled Junk Food. Everyone’s trying to make it sound official and it just ends up more vague.

      If we were eating Seafood, Chicken, Beef, Vegatables, Salads and Whole Grains, we’d live longer.

      In the end, we need to stay away from non-naturally occurring carbs and refrain from mixing naturally occurring carbs with tons of fat/salt to make them more palatable.

      Muffins, Doughnuts, French Toast, Submarine Sandwiches, Pizza, Pasta, all have to be super portion controlled, we we just don’t seem to have that kind of willpower.

      • exasperation@lemm.ee
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        3 hours ago

        The infuriating thing is that I believe that nutrition is more than just a linear addition of all the constituent ingredients (kinda the default view of nutrition science up through the 90’s), but addressing the shortcomings of that overly simple model shouldn’t mean making an even more simple model.

        NOVA classification is the wrong answer to a legitimate problem.

    • Treetrimmer@sh.itjust.works
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      4 hours ago

      A processed food would be like roasted nuts, a loaf of real bread, cheese, etc. an ultra processed food is anything that’s been broken down into individual constituents like corn syrup, maltodextrin, sugar, white flour, etc then amalgamated back together again. But I certainly see what you mean.

      • altphoto@lemmy.today
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        3 hours ago

        The difference between doritos and bread is merely the cooking temperature and the flavoring content… One is supposed to be cheesy and salty the other sweet and greasy/moist.

      • turmacar@lemmy.world
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        3 hours ago

        “Real bread” meets that definition of ultra-processed. It’s a bunch of individual constituents (flour, water, yeast, etc.) that are mixed together.