Type 2 Diabetes Incidence Up With Higher Intake of Ultraprocessed Food

FRIDAY, Sept. 27, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- 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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