UPFs linked to quarter of heart disease cases

A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and presented at the International Congress on Obesity in Mexico suggests that ultra-processed foods (UPFs) may be responsible for 23% to 38% of cardiovascular disease events and deaths in Canada in 2019. Researchers from the University of Montreal Center for Public Health Research used Canadian patient data to model the impact, estimating 58,200 to 96,000 new CVD cases and 10,600 to 17,400 deaths attributable to UPF intake. Reducing UPF consumption by 20% to 50% could have prevented 16,800 to 45,900 new cases and 3,100 to 8,300 deaths. The study calls for regulatory measures including food taxes, front-of-package labeling, marketing restrictions, and reformulation targets. However, experts including Alberto Fiore from Abertay University and Kevin McConway from the Open University criticized the study as a modeling exercise with wide uncertainty, noting that the observed risks may be explained by known nutritional harms of high sugar, salt, and fat rather than processing itself. Maeva May of the BSV Association emphasized the need for government and industry action to make healthier foods more accessible.