Research

Mixed

Higher consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) increases the risk of developing multimorbidity, defined as the co-occurrence of at least two chronic diseases among cancer, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.

To lower your risk of developing multiple chronic conditions (cancer, heart disease, diabetes) simultaneously, reduce your intake of ultra-processed foods. This includes items like soft drinks, packaged snacks, processed meats, and ready-to-eat meals. Aim to replace these with less processed options, as even a moderate reduction can significantly improve long-term health outcomes.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Higher UPF consumption (per 1 standard deviation increment, ∼260 g/day without alcoholic drinks) was associated with an increased risk of multimorbidity of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases (HR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.12).
Reynalda Córdova et al. · The Lancet Regional Health - Europe · 2023

Why this rating

Large multinational prospective cohort (n=266,666) with long-term follow-up (median 11.2 years) and rigorous statistical adjustment, though observational design prevents causal proof.

Source

Consumption of ultra-processed foods and risk of multimorbidity of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases: a multinational cohort study

Reynalda Córdova et al. · The Lancet Regional Health - Europe · 2023

DOI 10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100771

cohort · n=266666Cited 204×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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