Eating Ultraprocessed Foods Could Increase Dementia Risk
In case anyone needed another reason to minimize the amount of ultraprocessed food they eat in a day, a new study has linked UPFs with increased dementia risk.
The Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring journal released a new study last Friday, after monitoring the food intake of more than 2,100 dementia-free Australians between the ages of 40 and 70.
Their findings "suggest UPF consumption is associated with higher modifiable dementia risk and has detrimental effects on cognitive function."
How the Study Was Conducted
Describing UPFs as food "composed of refined ingredients and cosmetic additives with minimal whole food content," the journal pointed out just how popular they are around the world.
According to the study, UPFs make up more than half of the total dietary intake in countries including the United States and the UK. In Australia, where the study was conducted, that percentage sits at 42%.
The most consumed UPFs across the study were "dairy-based desserts and drinks (2.9% of total grams), soft drinks, fruit drinks and other sweetened beverages (2.6%), packaged salty snacks and potato products (2.5%), reconstituted processed meat (2.4%), and ready meals (2.4%)."
In addition to logging their food, participants underwent cognitive testing to measure processing speed.
The Study's Findings
The results indicated an association between higher UFP intake and dementia risk.
According to CNN, the study found that even a 10% increase in daily UPF consumption-which they compared to a small bag of potato chips-was linked to a 0.24 increase in dementia risk, on a 0-7 point scale.
"Our findings suggest that UPF consumption is associated with higher modifiable dementia risk and has detrimental effects on cognitive function, particularly on attention performance, independent of overall diet quality," reads the study, which clarified that no link was found between UPF and memory.
"For every 10 per cent increase in ultra-processed food a person consumed, we saw a distinct and measurable drop in a person's ability to focus," Barbara Cardoso, who was the lead researcher involved in the study, told CNN. "In clinical terms, this translated to consistently lower scores on standardized cognitive tests measuring visual attention and processing speed."
"Our study showed that UPF consumption was associated with worse attention and higher dementia risk in middle-aged and older adults," she added.
Per Cardoso, removing UPFs from one's diet could reduce risk.
UPFs and Muscle Health
In addition to possibly affecting cognitive function, UPFs have also been linked to obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and, in another recent study, muscle health.
A recent study published in the journal Radiology concluded that there's "valuable evidence linking ultra-processed food consumption to poor muscle quality." They believe their findings "lay the groundwork for future studies."
This specific study included data from 615 people, all around 60 years of age, and all at risk of developing knee osteoarthritis. Researchers studied what the participants ate, as well as MRI scans of the fat in their thigh muscles. Per NBC, while around 65% of the people studied were overweight, those who had diets high in UPFs had more fat stored, regardless of sex, caloric intake, or exercise.
Lifestyle changes, including changes in diet and exercise, can combat fat build-up in muscles.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Apr 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the Health & Fitness section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 2:27 PM.