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Type 2 Diabetes Incidence Up With Higher Intake of Ultraprocessed Food

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Sep 27, 2024.

via HealthDay

FRIDAY, Sept. 27, 2024 -- A higher intake of ultraprocessed food (UPF) is associated with an increased incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, according to a study published online Sept. 16 in The Lancet Regional Health.

Samuel J. Dicken, from University College London, and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort analysis of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort to examine the association between degree of food processing and incident type 2 diabetes. Dietary intake was assessed at baseline and classified as unprocessed/minimally processed food (MPF), processed culinary ingredients (PCI), processed food (PF), and UPF.

The researchers identified 14,236 type 2 diabetes mellitus cases during an average 10.9 years of follow-up of 311,892 individuals. Incident type 2 diabetes was 17 percent higher in association with each 10 percent increment of total daily food intake from UPF. The incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus was lower in association with each 10 percent increment in MPF + PCI (hazard ratio, 0.94) or PF intake (hazard ratio, 0.92). Lower incident type 2 diabetes mellitus was seen in association with replacing UPF with MPF + PCI or PF. Heterogeneity was seen across subgroups of UPF, with lower incident type 2 diabetes mellitus in association with breads, biscuits and breakfast cereals, sweets and desserts, and plant-based alternatives.

"Higher UPF intake was associated with higher incident type 2 diabetes mellitus, whereas higher intakes of foods with less processing were associated with lower incident type 2 diabetes mellitus," the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to Amazon; a second author disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

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