Eating more ultra-processed foods could increase a person’s risk of developing cancer of the mouth, throat and esophagus, a study finds.
New research published Wednesday in the European Journal of Nutrition suggests that people who consume higher amounts of ultra-processed foods have a 23% higher risk of head and neck cancer and a 24% higher risk of esophageal cancer.
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are foods that include additives and preservatives; but they also include the addition of ingredients like sugar, starch, fats and hydrogenated oils to enhance their taste, appearance and shelf life. These foods are common staples in many households and include products like cereals, chips, pastries, cookies, chicken tenders, breads, deli meats, sodas, ice cream and more.
Previously, it was believed that cancer associated with UPF consumption was owed to higher body fat, but the results of this latest research seem to challenge that notion, the authors suggest.
“UPFs have been associated with excess weight and increased body fat in several observational studies. This makes sense, as they are generally tasty, convenient and cheap, favoring the consumption of large portions and an excessive number of calories,” lead author of the study Fernanda Morales-Berstein said in a release on the findings. “However, it was interesting that in our study the link between eating UPFs and upper-aerodigestive tract cancer didn’t seem to be greatly explained by body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio.”
This implies that there is something about the foods themselves, and the way they are processed, that increases a person’s cancer risk.
For the study, experts analyzed 14 years of data from more than 450,000 people who were part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. The team found that although there was a correlation between body fat and the development of cancer, the links were much more prominent between cancer and consumption of UPFs.
The authors explained that their findings could possibly be explained, in part, by the additives contained in most UPFs, which have been linked to multiple diseases. However, there are more factors that need to be considered before researchers can definitively determine whether these foods are the actual cause of the cancers seen in the study, the authors explained.
“UPFs are clearly associated with many adverse health outcomes, yet whether they actually cause these, or whether underlying factors such as general health-related behaviors and socioeconomic position are responsible for the link, is still unclear,” the experts explained, adding that more research on the subject is needed to determine what kind of interventions would be most effective at improving health outcomes potentially related to eating high amounts of ultra-processed foods.
