A diet that includes a lot of highly processed foods loaded with sugar, fat, and salt may do more than raise the risk for overweight, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, researchers warn.

Highly processed foods such as packaged baked goods, instant soups, reconstituted meats, frozen meals, and shelf-stable snacks also contain substances that may significantly increase overall risk for cancer and breast cancer, according to Mathilde Touvier, PhD, of the Sorbonne Paris Cité Epidemiology and Statistics Research Center in Paris, France, and colleagues.

The team reports results from a prospective study of more than 100,000 participants from the NutriNet-Santé cohort, published online February 14 in the BMJ.

They found that a 10% increase in the proportion of ultraprocessed foods in the diet was associated with an 11% increase in overall cancer risk [hazard ratio [HR], 1.12; P < .001). These foods included ultraprocessed fats and sauces (P = .002), as well as sugary products (P = .03) and drinks (P = .005).

"If confirmed in other populations and settings, these results suggest that the rapidly increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods may drive an increasing burden of cancer in the next decades," the authors warn.

The rapidly increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods may drive an increasing burden of cancer in the next decades.

They also note that many people worldwide are eating highly processed foods. Previous surveys that assessed individual food intake in Europe, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Brazil indicate that up to 50% of the total daily energy intake of people living in developed countries comes from highly processed foods and food products.

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