Some popular food and drinks can increase your risk of dying from cancer significantly, according to a new study.
Ultra-processed foods such as sliced bread, breakfast cereals, fizzy pop and ready meals have long been singled out for their high levels of salt, fat, sugar and artificial additives.
These are known to cause obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease when consumed in high amounts.
And now further evidence appears to support the idea that they can contribute to risks of deadly cancers too, following a massive study of the diets of 200,000 middle-aged adults in the UK.
The team of scientists from Imperial College London monitored their health over 10 years, looking at the risk of developing cancer overall as well as specific risks of developing 34 different types of cancer.
Their study revealed that the higher consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with a greater risk of developing cancer overall, while putting people more at risk specifically of ovarian and brain cancers.
It was also connected with an increased risk of dying from cancer, most notably with these two cancers.
For every 10 per cent increase in ultra-processed food in a person’s diet, there was an increased incidence of two per cent for cancer overall and a 19 per cent increase for ovarian cancer.
The research also highlighted the other health risks, with data taken from adults showing the more of these ultra-processed food they ate, the higher the risk they had of developing obesity and type two diabetes.
With children in the UK, the more ultra-processed foods they ate, the more weight they gained.
These links remained even after adjusting for a range of socio-economic, behavioural and dietary factors, such as smoking status, physical activity and body mass index.
The research team have previously reported that levels of consumption of ultra-processed foods in the UK are the highest in Europe for both adults and children.
Commenting on the findings, study first author Dr Kiara Chang, of Imperial College London's School of Public Health, said: “The average person in the UK consumes more than half of their daily energy intake from ultra-processed foods.
“This is exceptionally high and concerning as ultra-processed foods are produced with industrially derived ingredients and often use food additives to adjust colour, flavour, consistency, texture, or extend shelf life.
"Our bodies may not react the same way to these ultra-processed ingredients and additives as they do to fresh and nutritious minimally processed foods."
She added that "urgent reform" was now needed to "protect the population from ultra-processed foods”, noting that they were often highly marketed with cheap price and attractive packaging to promote consumption.
