According to a study by Irccs Neuromed, consuming large quantities of ultra-processed foods causes people to become biologically older than their chronological age.
High consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with an acceleration of biological ageing, independently of the nutritional quality of the diet: this is what emerged from a study conducted by the epidemiology and prevention research unit of Irccs Neuromed in Pozzilli, in collaboration with Lum University in Casamassima, and published in the journal The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
"Our data," said researcher Simona Esposito, lead author of the study, "show that high consumption of ultra-processed foods not only has a negative impact on health in general, but could also specifically accelerate ageing, suggesting a connection that goes beyond the poor nutritional quality of these foods."
The research involved more than 22,000 participants from the Moli-sani Project: the researchers used more than thirty different blood biomarkers to measure biological age — which, unlike chronological age, reflects the biological condition of our body, including organs, tissues and systems — and examined dietary questionnaires regarding the consumption of ultra-processed foods.
According to the results, high consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with a significant acceleration of the body's biological ageing. This means that, when assessing the state of health of the body, people are biologically older than their actual chronological age.
"The mechanisms by which ultra-processed foods can damage health are not yet fully understood," explained researcher Marialaura Bonaccio, head of nutrition and health studies at Irccs Neuromed. "In addition to being inadequate from a strictly nutritional standpoint, being rich in sugars, salt and saturated or trans fats, these foods undergo intensive industrial processing that effectively alters their food matrix, with the consequent loss of nutrients and fibre as well. This can have significant repercussions on a range of physiological functions, including glucose metabolism, and the composition and functionality of the gut microbiota. It should also not be forgotten that these products are often sold in plastic packaging, thus becoming vehicles for toxic substances in the body."
The researchers therefore emphasise that it is not enough to focus solely on the nutritional quality of foods, but that the degree of industrial processing must also be taken into account. Indeed, even apparently healthy food products such as packaged sliced bread or fruit yoghurt may have undergone processing that alters their characteristics.