Ultra-Processed Diets Tracked With Higher Heart Death Risk

CATEGORY: EATING FOR HEART HEALTH

People who ate the most ultra-processed food had about a 50% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease—disease of the heart and blood vessels—than people who ate the least, according to a large research review that pooled evidence covering almost 10 million people. The highest intakes were also linked to a 21% higher risk of death from any cause. Because the underlying studies observed people rather than assigning them diets, the findings show an association, not proof that these foods directly cause early death.¹

More Than Half of Calories in Some Countries

Ultra-processed foods are industrial products made largely from substances extracted or refined from whole foods, with additives such as flavorings, colorings, and emulsifiers—ingredients that bind fat and water together. Think packaged snacks, sugary drinks, instant noodles, reconstituted meat products, and many ready-to-eat meals. In some higher-income countries, these products now supply more than half of the calories people eat, which is what gives a finding like this its reach.

45 Pooled Analyses Covering Nearly 9.9 Million People

This was an umbrella review—a study that gathers previous meta-analyses, which themselves each pool many individual studies, and weighs the evidence as a whole. The researchers combined 45 pooled analyses from 14 review articles, together covering nearly 9.9 million people. In the underlying studies, participants reported what they ate on diet questionnaires, their intake was classified by how industrially processed it was, and they were then followed, often for years to decades, while deaths and new diagnoses were recorded. The team also graded how dependable the evidence was for each health outcome, and the heart-related findings earned the strongest ratings.

Higher Risk for 32 Outcomes, Including Type 2 Diabetes

Higher ultra-processed food intake was associated with greater risks for 32 of the health outcomes examined, including type 2 diabetes—graded convincing, with a modest increase in risk—along with depression, anxiety, sleep problems, and obesity. For other outcomes, such as asthma, digestive diseases, and some cancers, the evidence remained limited. The reviewers graded 13 of the pooled analyses as showing no evidence of a link at all.¹ Notably, none of the included studies were funded by companies that make ultra-processed foods.¹

Income, Smoking, and Activity Could Not Be Fully Separated

All of the pooled studies were observational, so people who eat heavily processed diets may differ in other ways—income, smoking, activity—that questionnaires and statistical adjustment cannot fully capture. Ultra-processed food is also a broad category, and the evidence was stronger for some outcomes than others. Still, the size and consistency of the heart-related findings across millions of people is what set this review apart.

Sugary Drinks and Processed Meats Carried the Risk

Other pooled research points the same way but with smaller numbers. A 2024 analysis of 22 long-running studies linked the highest ultra-processed intakes to about 17% higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, and found the category isn’t uniform: sugary drinks and processed meats carried the risk, while breads, cereals and yogurt did not.² A separate review tied each extra daily serving to roughly 2% higher risk of cardiovascular events.³

Key Takeaways

• Across pooled studies of nearly 9.9 million people, the highest ultra-processed food intake was linked to about a 50% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and a 21% higher risk of death from any cause.
• Higher intake was also associated with type 2 diabetes, depression, anxiety, and sleep problems—32 adverse health outcomes in all.
• The evidence is observational, so it shows association, not proof of cause, and its strength varied by outcome—the heart-related death and diabetes findings were graded most convincing.

References

1. Lane MM, Gamage E, Du S, et al. Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses. BMJ. 2024;384:e077310. link
2. Mendoza K, Smith-Warner SA, Rossato SL, et al. Ultra-processed foods and cardiovascular disease: analysis of three large US prospective cohorts and a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. The Lancet Regional Health–Americas. 2024;37:100859. link.
3. Qu Y, Hu W, Huang J, et al. Ultra-processed food consumption and risk of cardiovascular events: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis. eClinicalMedicine. 2024;69:102484. link.