Another deadly harm from ultra-processed foods: junk increases the risk of debilitating bone diseases, scientists discover

Eating a lot of ultra-processed foods may put you at greater risk for a debilitating bone-thinning disease, research shows.

Foods rich in additives, such as chips and sweets, have been vilified for decades for their supposed risks, with dozens of studies linking them to type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

Experts have even called for the elimination of ultra-processed foods (UPF) – typically anything edible that contains more artificial ingredients than natural ones – from diets.

Now US scientists who followed more than 600 overweight Americans found that those who ate more junk food had greater amounts of fat stored in their thigh muscles.

The amount of calories in the foods made no difference to the effect.

Diets High UPF levels even affected muscle quality, regardless of how much exercise the participants did.

The team argued that their findings reflected calls to restrict certain types of UPFs and warned against it Larger amounts of fat in the thigh muscle can increase the risk of knee osteoarthritis.

Dr. Zehra Akkaya, a radiology and biomedical imaging researcher at the University of California and co-author of the study, said: ‘The novelty of this study is that it examines the impact of diet quality, specifically the role of UPFs in relationship to intramuscular fat in the thigh muscles assessed with MRI.’

In the study, 666 adults with an average age of 60 years and a BMI of 27 were questioned about their daily diet and MRI scans were made.

About 40 percent of the food they ate last year was ultra-processed.

They found that the more UPFs people consumed, the more intramuscular fat they had in their thigh muscles, regardless of energy intake – how many calories they ate.

The research will be presented in full today at the Radiological Society of North America’s annual conference in Chicago.

Dr. Akkaya said: ‘In an adult population at risk for knee or hip osteoarthritis, consuming UPFs is linked to an increase in fat in the thigh muscles.

‘These findings held true regardless of dietary energy content, BMI, sociodemographic factors or physical activity levels.’

‘Targeting modifiable lifestyle factors, especially obesity prevention through a healthy, balanced diet and adequate exercise, has been the mainstay of initial treatment for knee osteoarthritis.’

She added: ‘Osteoarthritis is an increasingly common and costly global health problem.

The Nova system, developed by scientists in Brazil more than a decade ago, divides food into four groups based on the amount of processing it has undergone. Unprocessed foods include fruits, vegetables, nuts, eggs and meat. Processed culinary ingredients – which are not usually eaten alone – include oils, butter, sugar and salt

The team argued that their findings echoed calls to restrict certain types of UPFs and warned that higher amounts of fat in the thigh muscle could increase the risk of knee osteoarthritis. Pictured: An X-ray of the head of a femur of the femur affected by osteoporosis

“It is the largest contributor to non-cancer healthcare costs in the US and around the world.

‘As this condition is strongly linked to obesity and unhealthy lifestyle choices, there are potential opportunities for lifestyle modification and disease management.’

The umbrella term UPFs is used for anything edible that is made with colourants, sweeteners and preservatives that extend shelf life.

Ready meals, ice cream and tomato ketchup are some of the most popular examples of products that fall under the umbrella term UPF.

This is now synonymous with foods that provide little nutritional value.

They differ from processed foods, which are tinkered with to make them last longer or improve their taste, such as cured meats, cheese and fresh bread.

Britain is the worst in Europe when it comes to eating UPFs, which make up an estimated 57 percent of the national diet.

They are thought to be a major cause of obesity, which costs the NHS around £6.5 billion a year to treat weight-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

There are 3.5 million people in the UK with osteoporosis, but it is often known as a ‘silent disease’ because there are no symptoms until someone breaks a bone.

Half of all women and one in five men over 50 will suffer a fracture, usually in the spine or hips, because of the disease, which makes bones so fragile that a break can be caused by coughing or sneezing.

Such fractures are the fourth biggest cause of disability and premature death in Britain.