Eating lots of ultra-processed food increases the risk of lung cancer by almost half, a study suggests.
Researchers tracked the health and diets of more than 100,000 adults over an average period of 12 years.
During this time there were 1,706 cases of lung cancer among the participants, with higher intakes of UPFs linked to higher rates of disease.
Food surveys revealed widespread consumption of UPFs, including ice cream, fried foods, bread, cakes, pastries, salty snacks, breakfast cereals, instant noodles and soups, margarine, confectionery, soft drinks, sweetened fruit drinks, hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza.
Experts from Harvard Medical School and Chongqing University Cancer Hospital found the average UPF consumption was nearly three servings a day, but ranged from 0.5 to six.
