Experts have issued a warning that foods which make up around 70 percent of the US food supply could possibly be linked to more deaths a year than fentanyl.
With summer just around the corner, many are likely thinking about getting into shape before jetting off somewhere hot.
But it's of course advised to eat a balanced diet all year round, and a new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine is a perfect indication of that.
Ultra-processed foods are 'becoming dominant in the global food supply' according to the study, which is certainly not a good thing for our health.
The research - which involved more than 240,000 people from eight countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, the UK, and the US) - suggested that those who eat more ultra-processed foods in their diet could be at greater risk of a premature death.
Carlos Augusto Monteiro, a co-author on the study and emeritus professor of nutrition and public health at the University of São Paulo, told CNN: "We looked at the risk of a person dying from eating more ultra-processed foods between the ages of 30 and 69, a time when it would be premature to die."
In a 2024 editorial journal, the professor co-wrote: "No reason exists to believe that humans can fully adapt to these products. The body may react to them as useless or harmful, so its systems may become impaired or damaged, depending on their vulnerability and the amount of ultra-processed food consumed."
Monteiro states that ultra-processed foods contain little to no whole food and instead use 'synthetic additives to make them edible, palatable and habit-forming'.
The team of researchers found that the risk of early death rises by close to three percent for every ten percent increase in calories from ultra-processed foods.
Though it's worth noting that the research cannot definitively prove that these foods caused any premature deaths as other factors, such as lifestyle and exercise, can also come into play.
Eduardo Augusto Fernandes Nilson, a researcher at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro and lead investigator of the new study, estimated that 124,000 premature US deaths were linked to excessive ultra-processed food use in 2018.
And to put that into context, just under 74,000 people died in the US from a fentanyl overdose in 2022, the New York Post reports.
While the new study included a huge sample size, food industry expert Sarah Gallo has voiced her concerns about the findings.
Speaking to CNN, Gallo said: "Demonizing convenient, affordable and shelf ready food and beverage products could limit access to and cause avoidance of nutrient dense foods resulting in decreased diet quality, increased risk of food-borne illness and exacerbated health disparities."