At least, that is the latest claim, based on a new study that found processed food is responsible for one in seven premature deaths.
The idea that junk food is bad for us is not new. Gastronomists have long turned up their noses at takeaways, microwave meals and snacks like sweets or crisps. And doctors say we should avoid such foods because they are high in fat, sugar and salt.
The idea that junk food is bad for us is not new (Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)
Some campaigners say it is bad for us because of the artificial chemicals, like preservatives, sweeteners and emulsifiers. Others, that it is because the food is made by breaking down raw ingredients into their constituent chemicals, and modifying and reassembling them, to make, for instance, hydrolysed vegetable proteins or high-fructose corn syrup.
As UPF makes up more than half of a typical Briton’s diet, anyone trying to seriously cut down would have to radically change the way they eat, by making all their meals and snacks from scratch. They would even have to bake their own bread or buy expensive artisan loaves.
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The latest research is case in point. The scientists analysed seven previous studies that found correlations between the amount of UPF people ate and their likelihood of dying over a certain period.
The scientists then used existing data about typical diets in different countries to calculate that UPF causes 14 per cent of “premature deaths” in places such as the UK and the US, where it makes up a lot of the diet. Premature deaths are defined as those occurring between the ages of 30 and 69. The study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Questions over the reliability of research into UPF
These were of a kind known as “observational studies”, meaning that they are less reliable than the gold standard of medical evidence, the randomised trial.
Almost all previous studies showing harm from UPF are of this type of observational research. One randomised trial has been done, and this found that people offered unlimited processed food ate more than when given home-cooked food. But that trial had only 20 people in it and they tried each diet for just two weeks.
Even most wholemeal bread is classed as UPF (Photo: MarkGillow/Getty/E+)
Observational studies have previously been relied on to show that smoking causes lung cancer, he added, a finding that is now accepted.
Government science advisers have previously said that the studies on UPF so far are “concerning”, but that the evidence is so uncertain, it should not change healthy eating guidelines.
“We already have dietary guidance on reducing high-fat, high-sugar foods, and that is relatively easy for the consumer,” said Dr Nerys Astbury, a nutrition scientist at the University of Oxford. “Making dietary recommendations on UPF is going to make that very confusing.”
Perhaps, the latest claims about UPF should be taken with a pinch of salt.
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