Increased intake of ultra-processed foods may accelerate biological aging

Important points:

• For every 10% increase in ultra-processed food intake, biological age increased by 2.4 months.
• These results could have important implications for mortality, morbidity and disability, the researchers noted.

Increased intake of ultra-processed foods may be associated with accelerated biological aging, according to the results of a cross-sectional study published in . age and aging.

Specifically, the researchers said that adding just an extra 200 calories of ultra-processed foods to a standard diet of 2,000 calories a day can increase the biological aging process by more than two months. .

“The significance of our discovery is enormous.” barbara rita cardosoPh.D.nutritional biochemists from Australia's Monash University said in a press release.

“Our findings show that reducing the intake of ultra-processed foods in the diet may help slow the trajectory of biological aging, and suggest strategies to promote healthy aging. It gives you another reason to target ultra-processed foods when you think about it.”

The negative association between ultra-processed foods and health effects is well established, and multiple studies have linked these foods. To CVD, greater risk of death and obesity.

In this cross-sectional study, researchers investigated the effects of biological aging within a cohort of 16,055 participants (51% female) aged 20 to 79 years from the 2003 to 2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We investigated how it correlates with UPF intake.

Researchers assessed participants' diet quality using the Healthy Eating Index 2015 and American Heart Association 2020, and biological aging was assessed using the PhenoAge algorithm.

Cardoso et al. found that every 10% increase in ultra-processed food consumption was equivalent to an increase in biological age of 0.21 (95% CI, 0.16-0.26) years, or 2.4 months.

Participants in the highest quintile of ultra-processed food consumption (with 68% to 100% of their diet consisting of ultra-processed foods) were older in biological age compared to participants in the lowest quintile of consumption. 0.86 (95% CI, 0.55 to 1.16) years older. Of these, less than 39% of the diet consisted of ultra-processed foods.

These associations remained significant even after the researchers adjusted for diet quality and total energy intake, and appeared to be slightly stronger in older adults, suggesting that “this may promote healthy aging.'' “This study highlights the potential role of nutrition in preventing age-related diseases,” Cardoso et al.

The researchers noted that adherence to a healthy diet moderately attenuated the association between ultra-processed food intake and biological aging (adjusted B = 0.14 for each 10% increment of ultra-processed food intake). ).

The researchers identified several study limitations. For example, more than 25% of energy intake may be misreported, and food intake estimates may not reflect a typical diet.

Cardoso and colleagues explained that while the 2.4-month effect size may seem small, it has “significant public health implications.”

“Based on previous research on the relationship between PhenoAge and morbidity, disability, and mortality, this increase was associated with a nearly 2% increase in mortality, a 0.75% increase in disability incidence, and a 0.75% increase in chronic disease incidence over a two-year period. is predicted to increase by 0.5%,” the researchers wrote.

They also recommend that ultra-processed foods and We highlighted possible causes of its relationship with biological aging.

Ultimately, the researchers concluded, this information “supports the need for public health strategies focused on diet to extend healthy lifespan.”

References:

Cardoso B et al. aging of age. 2024;doi:10.1093/ageing/afae268.
Ultra-processed foods are associated with accelerated biological aging. Available at: https://www.monash.edu/vic-heart-institute/news/2024-articles/ultra-processed-foods-associated-with-faster-biological-aging. Published on December 27, 2024. Accessed December 27, 2024.