Ultra-processed foods may help explain rising bowel cancer in under-50s, study suggests

"Ultra-processed foods are typically defined as industrially produced products that are often ready-to-eat, contain little in the way of whole foods, fibre and vitamins, and are typically high in saturated fat, sugar, salt and food additives. While the concept is not without controversy, not least around whether all UPFs are unhealthy, studies have suggested such foods are associated with a host of health problems, from higher risk of heart disease to early death."

"Now researchers say women who have a greater intake of UPFs have a greater risk of the early onset of a common type of bowel polyp known as conventional adenomas. Dr Andrew Chan, the lead author of the study based at Massachusetts General hospital in the US, said the study was prompted by an effort to understand what was driving rising rates of bowel cancer in younger people. The vast majority of these polyps do not become bowel cancer."

Women under 50 who consume high amounts of ultra-processed foods show increased risk of conventional adenomas, a common type of bowel polyp that can precede cancer. Ultra-processed foods are industrially produced, often ready-to-eat, low in whole foods, fibre, and vitamins, and high in saturated fat, sugar, salt and additives. Data derive from the US Nurses' Health Study II food-frequency questionnaires completed every four years from 1991, covering 29,105 female participants born 1947–1964 who underwent colonoscopy and had no prior polyps, inflammatory bowel disease, or cancer. Most conventional adenomas do not become cancer, but most young-onset bowel cancers arise from such precursor lesions.

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