Bowel cancer linked to ultra-processed foods, research suggests

Men who ate the highest amount of ultra-processed food had a 29 per cent increased risk of bowel cancer, reports Aisha Rimi

Three health studies show evidence of link between eating ultra-processed foods and risk of bowel cancer (PA)

Consuming lots of ultra-processed foods, such as sweet or savoury packaged snacks, sugary drinks, or instant noodles, could increase a person’s risk of bowel cancer, a new study suggests.

Academics in the US examined the association between eating ultra-processed foods and the risk of bowel cancer.

Their findings were based on three major long-term health studies involving more than 46,000 men and almost 160,000 women, where participants were tracked for 24 to 28 years, during which 3,216 cases of bowel cancer were identified.

The academics used data on cases and diets to determine risk for bowel cancer.

Results showed that compared to those who ate the lowest amount of ultra-processed food, men who ate the most had 29 per cent higher risk of developing bowel cancer. However, the link was not found among women.

When researchers looked at sub-groups of ultra processed food they found that women who consumed the highest quantities of ready meals had a 17 per cent increased risk of bowel cancer compared to those in the lowest consumption group.

They also found that higher consumption of ready meals which contained meat, poultry or seafood led to an increased risk for men.

Among men, they also linked highest consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks to bowel cancer. Those in the group which drank the most of these drinks were 21 per cent more likely to develop bowel cancer compared to those who drank the least.

“High consumption of total ultra-processed foods in men and certain subgroups of ultra-processed foods in men and women was associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer,” the authors wrote in The BMJ.

Ultra-processed foods make up 57 per cent of total daily calories consumed by American adults, a figure which has been continuously increasing over the last two decades, the researchers added.

A separate study published in the same journal examined food consumption among Italian people.

Researchers examined the quantity and quality of food and beverages consumed and deaths were measured over a 14-year period, taking into account any underlying health conditions.

The study involved almost 23,000 participants, 2,205 of whom died during the follow-up period.

The result showed that adults with the least healthy diets were more likely to have died during the follow-up period when compared to those who had better diets and ate the least amount of ultra-processed food.

In an accompanying editorial, Brazilian researchers said that most ultra-processed foods are “made, sold, and promoted by corporations, typically transnational, that formulate them to be convenient (ready to consume), affordable (low-cost ingredients), and hyper-palatable, and thus liable to displace other foods and also to be over-consumed”.

They said ultra-processed foods include soft drinks; packaged snacks; commercial breads, cakes, and biscuits; confectionery; sweetened breakfast cereals; sugared milk-based and fruit drinks; margarine; and pre-processed ready-to-eat or heat products such as burgers, pastas and pizzas.

“Most ultra-processed foods are energy-dense products, high in fat, sugar, and salt, and poor in fibre and micronutrients,” they added.

“What is to be done? Everybody needs food, but nobody needs ultra-processed foods (with the exception of infant formula, in the rare cases in which infants do not have access to breast milk).

“The analogy is tobacco. The rational solution is official public policies, including guidelines and publicity advising avoidance, and actions, including statutes, designed to reduce production and consumption of ultra-processed foods, and to restrict or preferably prohibit their promotion.”