Your Diet Might Be Playing a Bigger Role in Heart Disease Than You Think
Getting to the Heart of the Matter: Diets high in ultra-processed foods have repeatedly been associated with poorer health, although scientists are still debating how much of the risk comes from processing itself versus factors like added sugar, sodium, saturated fat, and low fiber. A new modeling study estimates that ultra-processed food consumption may account for between 23% and 38% of cardiovascular disease cases and deaths among Canadian adults.
The Study: Researchers combined Canadian dietary data from 2015 — when ultra-processed foods supplied 43.4% of adults’ daily calories — with national cardiovascular statistics and estimates from the Global Burden of Disease study. Their model suggested that reducing UPF consumption by 20% to 50% could have prevented approximately 16,800 to 45,900 new cases of heart disease and stroke, along with 3,100 to 8,300 cardiovascular deaths, in Canada in 2019.
The Takeaway: Even a relatively modest population-wide reduction in ultra-processed food consumption could potentially prevent thousands of cardiovascular cases, according to the model.
Keep in Mind: These are hypothetical estimates, not cases and deaths directly observed in people who changed their diets. The analysis relied on older dietary data, observational risk estimates and several modeling assumptions. Ultra-processed food intake also overlaps with other cardiovascular risk factors, including overall diet quality, smoking and socioeconomic disadvantage.
