Current Developments in NutritionNov 15, 2026, 06:24 GMT

Overall ultraprocessed food intake showed no clear link to death risk

Over a median 30 years, the highest- versus lowest-intake quarter had a hazard ratio—a comparison of death rates over time—of 0.99.

Paper by Wanjin Guan, Jiaqi Yang, Shutong Du, Valerie K. Sullivan, Casey M. Rebholz · Johns Hopkins University

Figure 1. Distribution of ultraprocessed food consumption across 9 food groups overall and within each quartile of UPF intake.Distribution of ultraprocessed food consumption across 9 food groups overall and within each quartile of UPF intake.Guan et al.

Our read

Populations

Studied:: Cohort study of 11,185 United States adults, against participants in lowest UPF intake quartile (Dose-response)
What changed:: Death risk showed no clear difference between highest and lowest ultraprocessed food intake groups (hazard ratio 0.99)
The catch:: Stress, occupational exposures, and income instability were incompletely measured, leaving possible confounding
In the record:: The 4th paper on cereals with results in people; 35 on record in all.

Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News

Paper

The 11,185 US adults in this community-based prospective cohort study averaged 54 years old; 55% were women and 24% were Black. Participants completed diet questionnaires in 1987–1989 and 1993–1995. Industrial products made mainly from food-derived ingredients and additives were classified as ultraprocessed. Over a median 30 years, 6,656 participants died.

Total ultraprocessed food intake was not significantly associated with death from any cause. The range of likely values for the highest- versus lowest-intake comparison included no difference. In exploratory analyses, the highest quarter of ultraprocessed meat intake was associated with an 11% higher relative death risk than the lowest quarter. For spirits, the corresponding association was 12% higher relative risk; for ultraprocessed cereals, it was 13% lower. The researchers accounted for factors including smoking, physical activity and alcohol use.

Why it matters

For understanding diet and longevity, the authors argue that ultraprocessed foods warrant separate investigation by category rather than being treated as a uniform exposure.

Caveats

Questionnaires captured reported eating habits at two visits, which may not reflect diet throughout the median 30-year follow-up. Participants with diabetes, cancer, chronic kidney disease, heart disease or stroke at enrollment were excluded.