Study links ultra-processed supermarket meals to higher heart attack and stroke risk
A review of 8.8 million people finds that frequent consumption of ultra-processed foods, common in supermarket meal deals, raises the chance of cardiovascular events and early death.
The largest review to date of ultra-processed food consumption evaluated 51 studies involving 8,819,894 participants aged 23 to 77 from America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. People who ate large amounts of these heavily industrialised products faced a 24% greater likelihood of cardiovascular events, with every extra 100 g per day adding a 14% increase in heart attack or stroke risk. Overall mortality rose by 18%, while risks of digestive diseases, depression, anxiety, cancer, high blood pressure and type-2 diabetes also climbed.
Scientists suspect that additives, preservatives and processing-induced compounds such as acrylamide and acrolein may drive these effects, though disentangling diet quality from other unhealthy habits remains challenging. Experts recommend replacing ultra-processed items with minimally processed alternatives and cooking from scratch to improve heart health.
Why it matters
The findings highlight how everyday convenience foods may significantly worsen heart health and overall mortality.
In this story
