Bowel cancer linked to ultra-processed foods, research suggests

Men who ate the highest amount of ultra-processed food had a 29 per cent increased risk of bowel cancer, reports Aisha Rimi

Three health studies show evidence of link between eating ultra-processed foods and risk of bowel cancer (PA)

Consuming lots of ultra-processed foods, such as sweet or savoury packaged snacks, sugary drinks, or instant noodles, could increase a person’s risk of bowel cancer, a new study suggests.

Academics in the US examined the association between eating ultra-processed foods and the risk of bowel cancer.

Their findings were based on three major long-term health studies involving more than 46,000 men and almost 160,000 women, where participants were tracked for 24 to 28 years, during which 3,216 cases of bowel cancer were identified.