Junk food could take years off your life, says a 30-year study

EATING too many ultraprocessed foods can lead to early death, a study suggests. Ready meals, fizzy drinks and ice creams appear to pose the greatest danger.

Harvard University researchers tracked 115,000 healthy US adults over three decades.

Four per cent more deaths occurred among participants who ate around seven servings of junk a day, compared to a group who ate half as much.

The team said their findings – published in the British Medical Journal – echoed calls to limit certain types of UPFs, the term used to cover anything edible made with colourings, sweeteners or preservatives.

No specific relationship between UPF consumption and cancer or heart disease deaths was observed. Instead the elevated risk – amounting to an extra 64 deaths per every 100,000 person-years – was seen for deaths from all causes.

Experts said the findings did not make it clear whether UPFs are harmful. Dr Duane Mellor, of the British Dietetic Association, said: ‘It might not be as simple as that those who ate more ultra-processed foods are more likely to die earlier – it is quite possible that these foods might displace healthier foods from the diet.’

And Professor Gunter Kuhnle, an expert in nutrition and food science at the University of Reading, said: ‘There is still virtually no robust evidence for an effect of “ultra-processing” specifically on health.’

UPFs are thought to be a key driver of obesity, which costs the NHS around £6.5billion a year.