Perhaps the most important risk factor for the development of obesity and, as a result, chronic diseases: processed food! Or in other words, the factory processing of original foods by taking out components and possibly adding flavor enhancers and preservatives.

A new scientific study details the relationship with Diabetes type 2: “The consumption of ultra-processed foods increased the risk for diabetes type 2 as a dose-response effect, with moderate to high credibility of evidence.”

 

The research data shows the following:

• 20% risk increase on Diabetes type 2 if you eat processed foods 2-4 times a week.
• 44% risk increase on Diabetes type 2 if you eat processed food more than 5 times a week.

Research summary

The researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis with records from PubMed, Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS), Scientific Electronic Library Online (Scielo), Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science. They included longitudinal studies assessing ultra-processed foods and the risk of type 2 diabetes. The review process was conducted independently by two scientific reviewers.

The Newcastle Ottawa scale assessed the quality of the studies. And a meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effect of moderate and high consumption of ultra-processed food on the risk of diabetes.

Research results:

In total 2272 records were screened, of which 18 studies, including almost 1.1 million individuals, were included in this review and 72% showed a positive association between ultra-processed foods and the risk of diabetes. According to the studies included in the meta-analysis, compared with non-consumption, moderate intake of ultra-processed food increased the risk of diabetes by 12%, whereas high intake increased risk by 31%.

Conclusions:

The consumption of processed foods increased the risk for type 2 diabetes as dose-response effect, with moderate to high credibility of evidence.

 

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Source: PubMed