Not all ultra-processed foods are equal, say Cambridge researchers exploring diabetes risk

Eating ultra-processed foods increases your chances of developing diabetes - but not all these foods carry the same risk, a study has concluded

A team of researchers, including experts at the University of Cambridge, believe the level of processing is a factor and suggest breads and cereals should be considered differently to savoury snacks and sugary drinks.

Every 10 per cent increase in the amount of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in a person’s diet is linked with a 17 per cent increase in diabetes risk, the study found.

Replacing these foods with less processed foods therefore lowers your risk.

The team - including researchers from UCL, Imperial College London and the MRC Epidemiology Unit at Cambridge - examined the food intake and health outcomes for 311,892 people from eight European countries over an average of 10.9 years, during which time 14,236 people developed type 2 diabetes.

Savoury snacks, animal-based products such as processed meats, ready meals and sugar-sweetened and artificially-sweetened beverages were found to be the highest risk UPF groups.

Prof Rachel Batterham, senior author of the study from UCL Division of Medicine, said: “The UPF subgroup analysis in this study has been revealing and confirms that not all foods categorised as UPF are alike in terms of the health risks associated with them.

“Breads and cereals, for example, are a staple of many people’s diets.

“Based on our results, I think we should treat them differently to savoury snacks or sugary drinks in terms of the dietary advice we provide.”

The team’s analysis separated UPFs into subgroups – bread, biscuits and breakfast cereal; sauces, spreads and condiments; sweets and desserts; savoury snacks; plant-based alternatives; animal-based products; ready meals; artificially and sugar-sweetened beverages; alcoholic drinks; other ultra-processed foods – to better understand how the level of processing affects type 2 diabetes risk.

Modelling suggests substituting 10 per cent of UPFs in your diet with 10 per cent of unprocessed or minimally processed foods (MPF) such as eggs, milk and fruit, and processed culinary ingredients (PCI) such as salt, butter and oil, reduced type 2 diabetes risk by 14 per cent.

Substituting 10 per cent of UPFs with 10 per cent of processed foods reduced diabetes risk by 18 per cent, the study suggests. Processed foods include tinned fish, cheese, wine, beer, salted nuts, artisanal breads and preserved fruits and vegetables.