A handful of popular snack each day can increase chance of cancer and heart attack, major study finds
Just a packet of crisps a day could raise the risk of life-threatening heart issues and cancer, shock research today suggested.
Additive-laden foods such as crisps and sweets have been vilified for decades over their supposed risks, with dozens of studies linking them to type 2 diabetes and other diseases.
Experts have even called for ultra-processed foods (UPFs)—typically anything edible that has more artificial ingredients than natural ones—to be slashed from diets.
Now in a major review, Chinese scientists who tracked the diets of more than 8 million adults discovered that consuming just an extra 100g of UPFs each day—roughly two packets of crisps—also increased the risk of digestive diseases by a fifth.
Scientists today labelled the findings important and urged Governments to tighten food labelling regulations which would force manufacturers to disclose exactly which additives are present in UPFs.
Dr Xiao Liu, an expert in cardiology at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou and study co-author said: ‘Clinicians should clearly explain that UPFs are typically high in added sugars, sodium, and unhealthy fats, while being low in fiber, essential vitamins, and other protective nutrients.
‘This nutritional imbalance contributes to a wide range of adverse health outcomes.
‘Emerging evidence suggests a dose-response relationship between UPF consumption and negative health outcomes—meaning the more UPFs consumed, the greater the health risk.
Additive-laden foods such as crisps and sweets have been vilified for decades over their supposed risks, with dozens of studies linking them to type 2 diabetes and other diseases
The Nova system, developed by scientists in Brazil more than a decade ago, splits food into four groups based on the amount of processing it has gone through. Unprocessed foods include fruit, vegetables, nuts, eggs and meat. Processed culinary ingredients — which are usually not eaten alone — include oils, butter, sugar and salt
‘Therefore, reducing UPF intake, even modestly, may offer measurable health benefits.’
In the study, researchers assessed 41 studies spanning North and South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania involving 8,286,940 adults.
They found each additional 100g per day of UPF consumption was associated with a 5.9 per cent increased risk of cardiovascular events and 1.2 per cent increased risk of cancer.
For comparison, a packet of Walkers Ready Salted crisps or Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Chocolate Bar—both available in supermarket meal deals—weigh 45g.
The findings, presented at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Asia 2025 conference in Singapore, also showed adults had a 14.5 per cent higher risk of high blood pressure.
Their likelihood of developing digestive diseases rose by 19.5 per cent, while risk of early death also increased 2.6 per cent.
There was also an increased risk of obesity, diabetes and depression and anxiety, the researchers said.
The umbrella term UPFs is used to cover anything edible made with colourings, sweeteners and preservatives that extend shelf life.
While some warning signs are easy to spot ¿ such as severe chest pain ¿ others are more vague and hard to pinpoint
Ready-meals, ice cream and tomato ketchup are some of the best-loved examples of products that fall under the umbrella UPF term.
This is now synonymous with foods offering little nutritional value.
They are different to processed foods, which are tinkered to make them last longer or enhance their taste, such as cured meat, cheese and fresh bread.
The UK is the worst in Europe for eating UPFs, which make up an estimated 57 per cent of the national diet.
They are thought to be a key driver of obesity, which costs the NHS around £6.5billion a year treating weight-related disease like diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.
Last year, disturbing data also suggested that children who ate lots of UPFs show early signs of poor heart health and diabetes risk factors from as young as three years old.
