Consuming large amounts of ultra-processed food (UPF) increases the risk of an early death, according to a international study that has reignited calls for a crackdown on UPF.
Each 10% extra intake of UPF, such as bread, cakes and ready meals, increases someone’s risk of dying before they reach 75 by 3%, according to research in countries including the US and England.
UPF is so damaging to health that it is implicated in as many as one in seven of all premature deaths that occur in some countries, according to a paper in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
They are associated with 124,107 early deaths in the US a year and 17,781 deaths every year in England, the review of dietary and mortality data from eight countries found.
Even with this information, it’s fine if it’s a small part of your diet. My kids aren’t going to die because they eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day.
Always having it available and the fact that they’ll eat it mean it’s the healthier choice.
You have to make tradeoffs. That’s just how food works and how it has always worked.