Cut ultra-processed food
Replace ready meals, sweet drinks and packaged food. Moves inflammatory markers and often weight.
Order of magnitude
Cut the share of ultra-processed products in energy intake substantially.
The evidence here is weaker than the popularity of the idea.
Effects in detail
Each row is a directed edge from our database, with range, latency, evidence grade and the condition under which it applies at all.
| Marker | Effect | Latency | Mode of action | Outcome | Evidence | Condition | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diastolic blood pressure | helps. Lowers Direction known, size not established Nine observational studies in 111,594 adults found 23 % higher odds of hypertension at higher ultra-processed food consumption (OR 1.23, 95 % CI 1.11 to 1.37), significant across every subgroup examined. Direction only and grade C. Trial proxy: incident_hypertension. Trial proxy: incident_hypertension. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade C | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| Systolic blood pressure | helps. Lowers Direction known, size not established Nine observational studies in 111,594 adults found 23 % higher odds of hypertension at higher ultra-processed food consumption (OR 1.23, 95 % CI 1.11 to 1.37), significant across every subgroup examined. Direction only and grade C. Trial proxy: incident_hypertension. Trial proxy: incident_hypertension. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade C | applies regardless of the starting value |
What this measure costs
Counteracting effects of the same measure.
No counteracting effect is on file for this measure. That does not mean there is none, only that we found no defensible edge.
Moves without implying progress
Informational or no established effect: the marker moves or was checked, and that is not progress.
| Marker | Effect | Latency | Mode of action | Outcome | Evidence | Condition | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| high-sensitivity CRP | moves, and does not count. Lowers -4.00 % confidence interval of the estimate, not the range one person can expect In 2018 adults, every 100 g/day more ultra-processed food went with a 4.0 % higher hs-CRP (95 % CI 2.1 to 5.9). Cross-sectional, so the percentages describe an association and not the effect of removing 100 g/day. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade C | applies regardless of the starting value |
Sources
Full details of every study the rows above rely on.
Effect of dose and duration of reduction in dietary sodium on blood pressure levels: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials
Huang et al. · BMJ · 2020 · Meta-analysis
Higher Ultra-Processed Food Consumption Is Associated with Greater High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Concentration in Adults: Cross-Sectional Results from the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study
Lane et al. · Nutrients · 2022 · Cohort study
Ultra-processed Foods Consumption Increases the Risk of Hypertension in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Wang et al. · American Journal of Hypertension · 2022 · Review