Eating too many calories from Ultra Processed Food’s has been linked with several health conditions, ranging from heart disease to diabetes, but a new study has added weight to the theory that UPF consumption can lead to a significant risk of prostate cancer, according to a new scientific study.
The report, coming out of Florida Atlantic University and published in the American Journal of Medicine, showed that even after adjusting for age, race, smoking, and other factors, UPFs posed a significant risk to prostate health. This is a major concern, not least because Ultra Processed Foods, which are often high in sugar and preservatives, and have nutrients like fiber stripped away, make up almost 60% on average, of the energy intake of men in the United States.
How Was the Study Carried Out?
Researchers at Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine crunched the data of over 17,000 men from the U.S., aged 18 and older, based on a Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Levels of UPF consumption were defined as:
- Lower Group: Less than 20% of daily calories include UPFs
- Middle Groups: 20% to 44% of daily calories include UPFs
- Higher Group: 44%+ of total daily calories from UPFs
After estimating the proportion of calories that these participants consumed from ultra-processed foods, the experts then looked at the levels of self-reported prostate cancer within the total sample. The analyses attempted to isolate the effects of UPFs by adjusting for factors such as age, race and ethnicity, smoking, and poverty status.
How Do Ultra-Processed Foods Increase Prostate Cancer Risk?
“Among adult men in this nationally representative U.S. population, those who consumed higher amounts of UPFs had significantly higher risks of the subsequent development of prostate cancer,” commented Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., FACPM, FACC, who was a senior author on the study. “These findings add to emerging evidence that UPFs have major adverse health effects and underscore the need for large-scale observational studies and randomized trials to adequately test the hypothesis.”
Men in the higher group had a 24% to 34% greater risk of contracting prostate cancer.
Previous studies on UPF consumption have revealed that larger amounts present a higher risk of obesity, metabolic disease, markers of inflammation, cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks and strokes, as well as premature death. Prostate cancer is a significant global health concern, and The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 333,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in the U.S. alone in 2026, with 36,000+ expected to die from the disease. The International Agency for Research on Cancer reports that nearly 1.5 million men worldwide were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2022, and close to 400,000 of those died as a result. It’s understandable then, that the team working on this latest study suggest that the dangers of UPFs should be something that populations are fully aware of, rather than follow the slow path that led to the realization of the harms of other habits such as smoking.
“All healthcare professionals should encourage patients to adopt healthy lifestyle practices and evidence-based therapies while also helping them reduce their consumption of ultra-processed foods,” said Hennekens. “Patients and their healthcare providers should consider this finding as part of broader efforts to promote healthier dietary choices.”