Research

Mixed

The association between ultra-processed food consumption and cancer risk is not mediated by standard nutritional factors like lipid, sodium, or carbohydrate intake.

This study suggests that the cancer risk associated with ultra-processed foods is not just because they are high in fat, sugar, or salt. Even when accounting for these nutritional factors, the risk persists. This implies that the processing methods, additives, and contaminants in these foods may play a significant role in increasing cancer risk, independent of their basic nutritional content.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Further adjustment for several indicators of the nutritional quality of the diet (lipid, sodium, and salt intakes—model 2; Western pattern—model 3; or both—model 4) did not modify these findings.
Thibault Fiolet et al. · BMJ · 2018

Why this rating

Robust statistical adjustment and mediation analysis within a large cohort.

Source

Consumption of ultra-processed foods and cancer risk: results from NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort

Thibault Fiolet et al. · BMJ · 2018

DOI 10.1136/bmj.k322

cohort · n=104980Cited 1,000×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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