If you love gulping down high amounts of ultra-processed foods like soft drinks, chips, and cookies having high fat, sugar, and salt contents then, there are high chances that you may have a greater risk of developing dementia than those who eat the lowest amounts.
According to a study published in the journal Neurology, replacing ultra-processed foods in a person's diet with unprocessed or minimally processed foods was associated with a lower risk.
However, it mentioned that the study does not prove that ultra-processed foods cause dementia and only shows an association. "Our research not only found that ultra-processed foods are associated with an increased risk of dementia, but it also found replacing them with healthy options may decrease dementia risk," said researcher Huiping Li of Tianjin Medical University in China.
Ultra-processed foods are high in added sugar, fat, and salt, and low in protein and fiber. They include soft drinks, salty and sugary snacks, ice cream, sausage, deep-fried chicken, yogurt, canned baked beans, and tomatoes, among others.
For the study, the team identified 72,083 people from a large database containing the health information of half a million people living in the UK. Participants were 55 and older and did not have dementia at the start of the study.
They were followed for an average of 10 years. By the end of the study, 518 people were diagnosed with dementia. During the study, participants filled out at least two questionnaires about what they ate and drank the previous day.
On average, ultra-processed foods made up 9 per cent of the daily diet of people in the lowest group, an average of 225 grams per day, compared to 28 per cent for people in the highest group, or an average of 814 grams per day.
In the lowest group, 105 of the 18,021 people developed dementia, compared to 150 of the 18,021 people in the highest group.
After adjusting for age, gender, family history of dementia and heart disease, and other factors that could affect the risk of dementia, researchers found that for every 10 per cent increase in daily intake of ultra-processed foods, people had a 25 per cent higher risk of dementia.
The study holds importance in the context of India where activists and health experts from across the country have unanimously rejected the “health star rating” system that the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) plans to adopt in order to help consumers reduce their intake of unhealthy foods.
They argue that it is “not evidence-based” and has failed to alter buyer behavior. Instead, the health experts have sought “warning labels” or FOPL (Front of Packaging Labels) which are simple and readable and have been most effective in various countries.
In fact, according to a nationwide survey conducted by the Institute of Governance, Policies, and Politics (IGPP), nearly 80 per cent of parents favored a mandatory display of levels of sugar, fat, and salt on packaged food products through simple labels.