Ultra-processed foods cause 38 per cent of cardiovascular disorders every year: study

Ultra-processed foods were responsible for 38 per cent of cardiovascular disorders recorded in 2019 in Canada, indicates a study published Tuesday by Heart + Stroke.

This represents 96,043 new cases of cardiovascular disease (heart disease or stroke), 17,417 deaths and 388,654 years of life lost or affected by disability due to these diseases, per year.

“I was a little discouraged by these numbers, but not really surprised,” said the study’s director, Professor Jean-Claude Moubarac of the University of Montreal. “With a study like this, we generate evidence (…) to say listen, 40 per cent is huge (…) and these are diseases that can be prevented.

“It shows us the opportunities that are available to us if we act in prevention. We must not live with this idea that illness is inevitable.”

Specifically, the researchers used a statistical model to estimate the number of new cases of cardiovascular disease; deaths related to cardiovascular disease; and years of life lost or affected by disability due to cardiovascular disease that can be attributed to the consumption of ultra-processed foods and beverages.

Ultra-processed foods are those that have been industrially produced and contain ingredients not typically found in a home kitchen, such as emulsifiers, preservatives, artificial colors and flavors.

This broad category includes products such as soft drinks, instant noodles and potato chips, as well as less obvious foods like flavored yogurts and commercially prepared whole-wheat breads.

According to the most recent data available, ultra-processed foods represent nearly 45 per cent of the daily energy intake of Canadians aged 20 and over.

“Food is at the heart of human health, it is at the heart of our economy and it must be at the heart of our public policies,” said Professor Moubarac.

The study authors estimate that there could be a reduction of 45,914 new cases of cardiovascular disease; 8,314 deaths related to cardiovascular disease; and 185,209 years of life lost or affected by disability due to these diseases, per year in Canada, if the population reduced its consumption of ultra-processed foods and beverages by half.

But it is not so simple to change such well-established habits, stressed dietitian Virginie Hamel, who was part of Professor Moubarac’s team.

“It can take several months and several meetings (to get a change),” she said. “And if we don’t see (the person) again, two years later the habit has returned because we’re so immersed in it.”

Plus, she continues, ultra-processed foods have been formulated to make it nearly impossible to eat a small portion ― like that potato chip company whose advertising slogan dares us to eat “just one.”

In contrast, if consumption of ultra-processed foods were to jump by 50 per cent, this would result in an increase of 19,979 new cases, 3,489 deaths and 77,691 years of life lost or affected by disability due to these diseases, per year.

“There is an urgent need for Canada to adopt a comprehensive approach that involves multiple policies and interventions to reduce the pervasiveness of ultra-processed foods and beverages in the country’s food environment and to reduce their consumption among the population,” the study authors write.

Several studies published recently demonstrate the scale of the problem.

For example, a University of Toronto researcher recently warned that preschoolers are consuming large amounts of ultra-processed foods, making them vulnerable to health problems like obesity later in life.

Another analysis, this one by 15 leading researchers from Canadian universities, calculated that children in Canada are exposed to some 4,000 food ads on their mobile devices alone, nine out of ten of which are for unhealthy foods. The exposure doubles when it comes to teenagers, to just over 8,000 ads.

This corresponds to 1.96 food advertisements/child/30 minutes, and 2.56 food advertisements/adolescent/30 minutes, throughout the year.

“The consumption of ultra-processed foods has almost become normalized,” said Hamel, who is a doctoral student at the University of Montreal. “We have the impression that these are foods like any other. But what we want to highlight is that these are foods that were created from scratch, with substances and processes that are less healthy.”

Both researchers are pleased to see that awareness of the dangers of ultra-processed foods is growing among the population, but warn that there is still a long way to go before healthy foods are as widely available and before consumers can make truly informed choices.

“Currently, for citizens, I consider that the rules of the game are not very fair,” concluded Professor Moubarac. “My choices depend on the information I receive, and we know that information is manipulated by the (food) industry. We cannot think that the market is free and that a citizen makes his choices freely because the industry, through advertising, through lobbying, interferes every day with my choices.”

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews