PARIS, June 12 — From cancer to diabetes to depression, scientists have sounded the alarm about the consequences of eating ultra-processed foods (UPFs). In fact, the harmful effects could be even more far-reaching, to the point of impacting sleep.
For the first time, a study has established a link between chronic insomnia and ultra-processed foods.
So-called ultra-processed foods, such as chips, cookies and sodas, are typically packed with additives, emulsifiers, sugars and unhealthy fats. Researchers in Spain recently reported that eating ultra-processed foods during childhood is associated with worse cardiometabolic health (diabetes, hypertension and abdominal obesity).
Meanwhile, research conducted among adults in the US highlighted an increased risk of premature death. In detail, participants consuming the most ultra-processed foods — an average of seven servings a day — had a 4 per cent higher all-cause mortality rate than those eating an average of three servings a day.
Indeed, studies focusing on the effects of junk food are numerous, and often highlight different harmful consequences for health. For example, a new study reports that ultra-processed foods can impact sleep quality.
For the first time, a link between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and chronic insomnia has been established in a study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Researchers from the Department of Medicine at Columbia University in New York, USA, worked in conjunction with the Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Statistics (CRESS) in Bobigny, France, to analyse the dietary intake of 38,570 adult participants.
Overall, nearly 20 per cent of them suffered from chronic insomnia and ultra-processed foods accounted for 16 per cent of their dietary intake.
The scientists say that individuals who reported chronic insomnia consumed a higher percentage of their overall energy intake from ultra-processed foods. For the moment, no causal link has been established.
The conclusion is more a matter of statistical observation, “independent of sociodemographic, lifestyle, diet quality, and mental health status characteristics.”
While the association between higher intake of ultra-processed foods and insomnia was observed in both men and women, men were found to have a slightly higher risk.
“At a time when more and more foods are highly processed and sleep disturbances are rampant, it is important to evaluate whether diet could contribute to adverse or good quality sleep,” explains lead investigator, Marie-Pierre St-Onge of Columbia University, quoted in a news release.
The scientist concludes: “Our research team had previously reported associations of healthy dietary patterns, like the Mediterranean diet, with a reduced risk of insomnia and poor sleep quality (both cross-sectionally and longitudinally), and high carbohydrate diets with an elevated risk of insomnia.
The consumption of UPF is on the rise worldwide, and it has been linked to numerous health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and cancer.” — ETX-Studio
