Each additional 5 servings of ultraprocessed foods per 2,000 kcal per day was associated with 16% higher odds of vascular brain injury and 21% higher odds of covert brain infarcts in middle-aged adults, according to a McMaster University study.

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A McMaster University study published in JAMA Network Open found that women in the highest quartile of ultraprocessed food consumption had 78% higher odds of MRI-defined vascular brain injury compared to women in the lowest quartile.

A McMaster University study published in JAMA Network Open on October 15, 2026, found that middle-aged adults in the highest quartile of ultraprocessed food intake had 40% higher odds of MRI-defined covert brain infarcts or high white matter hyperintensity burden compared to those in the lowest quartile.

A McMaster University study published in JAMA Network Open found that higher ultraprocessed food intake was not significantly associated with performance on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment or the Digit Symbol Substitution Test among middle-aged adults.

A McMaster University study published in JAMA Network Open found that middle-aged adults in the highest ultraprocessed food quartile had 1.7 percentage points higher total body fat and 5.7 mL greater visceral adipose tissue volume than those in the lowest quartile.

Participants in the highest ultraprocessed food quartile consumed 41.5% of daily food servings from minimally processed whole foods compared with 68.6% among those in the lowest quartile, according to the McMaster University study.

Researchers noted that the lack of association between ultraprocessed food intake and cognitive test scores in the McMaster University study may reflect ceiling effects or high cognitive reserve in the highly educated study cohort.

In a McMaster University study of 8,783 middle-aged adults published in JAMA Network Open, overall MRI-detected silent vascular brain injury was present in 9.2% of participants, including 11.3% in the highest ultraprocessed food consumption quartile versus 8.1% in the lowest.

Exploratory sex-stratified analyses in the McMaster University study showed no statistically significant association between ultraprocessed food intake and vascular brain injury among male participants.

Participants in the McMaster University study derived an average of 42% of their total daily calories from ultraprocessed foods, with median daily consumption ranging from 3.1 servings per 2,000 kcal in the lowest quartile to 12.8 servings in the highest quartile.

The association between high ultraprocessed food consumption and vascular brain injury remained statistically significant after adjusting for total body fat percentage and visceral adipose tissue volume in the McMaster University study.

A McMaster University study published in JAMA Network Open observed that the association between higher ultraprocessed food intake and increased total body fat percentage was statistically significant among participants with a body mass index of 30 or greater, but not among those with a lower body mass index.

In continuous analyses from a McMaster University study, each additional 5 servings of ultraprocessed foods per 2,000 kcal per day was associated with a 0.9 percentage-point increase in total body fat percentage and 4.0 mL greater visceral adipose tissue volume.

Cases of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease have increased 143% over the last three decades as calorific food consumption has risen.

Ultra-processed food and addiction researcher Ashley Gearhardt noted that binge eating emerged as a recognized clinical problem alongside the growing dominance of highly processed foods in the food supply.

UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health nutrition epidemiologist Lindsey Smith-Taillie stated that cheap, shelf-stable, and heavily marketed ultra-processed foods contribute to overconsumption in homes.

Scientists evaluating early-onset cancer trends suspect that rising obesity, processed meat consumption, physical inactivity, alcohol use, and improved diagnostic testing contribute to increased rates in younger adults.

Professor Roger Kirby stated that processed meats containing nitrates and nitrites, such as bacon, sausages, and burgers, are linked to an increased risk of bowel and prostate cancers.

Ultra-processed foods should carry mental health warning labels

A review of 41 prospective studies involving over 8.2 million adults associated each additional 100 grams of daily ultra-processed food with a 5.9% increase in cardiovascular events and a 14.5% increase in hypertension risk.

A systematic review of 51 prospective cohort studies involving 8,819,894 adults found that higher ultra-processed food intake raised the risk of all-cause death by 18%, digestive diseases by 31%, and cardiovascular events by 24%.