Review of studies · Supplements / medicine · 22 Sept 2026
Across 51 cohorts and 8.8 million adults, more ultra-processed food tracked higher chronic-disease risk
Source: News-Medical / BMJ Group
What the research found
Study (dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohorts). Liu and colleagues report in Family Medicine and Community Health (doi 10.1136/fmch-2026-003925) on 51 cohorts and 8,819,894 adults whose mean ages ran from 23 to 77, followed 2 to 32 years. Higher ultra-processed food intake was associated with higher risk of cardiovascular events (24%), metabolic syndrome or diabetes (24%), death from any cause (18%), and high blood pressure (11%), among other outcomes. Each extra 100 g per day tracked a 14% higher cardiovascular-event risk and a 2% higher metabolic syndrome or diabetes risk. Diets were self-reported, and the rest of lifestyle is hard to fully adjust for. Association, not a treatment claim. Educational nutrition notes.
Evidence level: Review of studies. This is among the stronger kinds of evidence, but one study rarely settles a question.
More supplements / medicine news
- In mice, the experimental drug KCL-286 reduced DNA breaks and brain inflammation in an Alzheimer's model
- In aged rats, two weeks of the experimental drug cinaciguat cut circulating amyloid-beta about in half and brought LDL down to youthful levels
- In 104 people with a sudden retinal-artery blockage, papaverine use lined up with better functional vision in a retrospective comparison
- A Cell Metabolism letter questions whether a fasting GLP-1 level shows how many gut L-cells a person has
- In FDA reports, caffeine and stimulant supplement use was tied to cardiac arrest about 11 times more often, and 45 percent of those cardiovascular reports were ages 18 to 34