Ultra-processed food is linked to harm of every major organ in the body according to new study

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are linked to harm in every major human organ, according to the authors of a new study.

The conversation around UPFs has been ramping up in recent months, particularly following the 'Killer protein bar' campaign by Joe Wicks, and these latest findings provide yet another blow for lovers of processed foods.

UPFs - which include food items like crisps, biscuits, processed meats, cereals and fizzy drinks - are said to be a leading cause of a 'chronic disease pandemic', as they're linked to an increased risk of a dozen health conditions, including depression and heart disease.

The worldwide study, which is the largest of its kind, claims that UPFs are becoming so prevalent in both children's and adults' diets that they're 'displacing fresh and minimally processed foods and meals'.

Processed foods are leading a health pandemic, according to the study (Getty Stock Images)

A team of 43 scientists and researchers worked together on the findings, concluding that profit-greedy corporations are putting 'profitability above all else' by using aggressive tactics to push UPFs into the mainstream.

Sharing their study in The Lancet, they said the food companies' economic influence was growing and 'the global public health response is still nascent, akin to where the tobacco control movement was decades ago.'

They added that while other countries have successfully introduced controls on UPFs, the UK is lagging behind as a result of 'co-ordinated efforts of the industry to skew decision-making, frame policy debates in their interest, and manufacture the appearance of scientific doubt'.

One of the authors of the study, Professor Chris Van Tulleken, from University College London, said obesity and diet-related illnesses had increased in line with a 'three-decade history of reformulation by the food industry.'

People are calling on more research into UPFs (Getty Stock Images)

He continued: "This is not a product level discussion. The entire diet is being ultra-processed."

Another co-author, Professor Carlos Monteiro, professor of public health nutrition at the University of São Paulo, said UPFs 'harm every major organ system in the human body,' adding that 'the evidence strongly suggests that humans are not biologically adapted to consume them'.

“The growing consumption of ultra-processed foods is reshaping diets worldwide, displacing fresh and minimally processed foods and meals,” he continued.

“This change in what people eat is fuelled by powerful global corporations who generate huge profits by prioritising ultra-processed products, supported by extensive marketing and political lobbying to stop effective public health policies to support healthy eating.”

Meanwhile, experts not involved in this particular study are calling for more research as the data does show a link between UPFs and poor health, but not causation.