A study by a group of researchers from Paris, France was recently posted in the BMJ (British Medical Journal). Their objective was to assess the associations between consumption of ultra-processed food and risk of cancer. The study consisted of 104 980 participants aged at least 18 years. Dietary intakes were collected using repeated 24 hour dietary records, designed to register participants’ usual consumption for 3300 different food items. These were categorised according to their degree of processing by the NOVA classification. Associations between ultra-processed food intake and risk of overall, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer were assessed.
The Results: Ultra-processed food intake was associated with higher overall cancer risk and breast cancer risk.
Their Conclusions: In this large prospective study, a 10% increase in the proportion of ultra-processed foods in the diet was associated with a significant increase of greater than 10% in risks of overall and breast cancer.
To see the full article, go to: http://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k322
