Killed by convenience? Eating ready meals may raise men’s risk of prostate disease

Eating ready meals may increase men’s risk of getting prostate disease, a study has found.

The research links ultra-processed food to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or enlarged prostate, which affects three million men in the UK.

Ultra-processed foods are often high in sugar, fat and salt and include ready meals, soft drinks and packaged breads and buns.

They have previously been linked to a higher risk of heart disease and cancer.

The Mail on Sunday is campaigning to end needless prostate cancer deaths and for a national screening programme to be introduced.

Researchers compared the diets of 77,951 British men, aged over 45, during a 10-year period. Some 7,387 of them were diagnosed with BPH.

Results showed that each 10 per cent increase in the amount of ultra-processed foods they ate was associated with a four per cent higher risk of being diagnosed with BPH. 

Conversely, each 10 per cent increase in non-processed plant food was associated with a nine per cent reduced risk.

Researchers, from Peking University Shenzhen Hospital in China and other centres, said: ‘This is the first study to identify ultra-processed foods as a risk factor for BPH. The overall evidence suggests that they may exert adverse effects on prostate health.

‘A higher percentage of total food weight from all ultra-processed foods was associated with an increased risk of BPH, whereas a higher percentage from plant-sourced foods was linked to a reduced risk.’ 

The researchers say that there are a number of possibilities as to why ultra-processed foods increase the risk of BPH.

One theory is that they trigger chronic inflammation and insulin resistance, which may lead to an enlarged prostate.

Another theory is that metabolic dysregulation – a disruption in the way the body manages energy intake – may be implicated.

The researchers, who published their findings in Nutrition Journal, said: ‘The foods are high in fat, sugar and sodium, but are deficient in fibre, vitamins and bioactive compounds, thereby promoting metabolic disorders.’

Professor Raj Persad, a consultant urological surgeon and andrologist at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, said: ‘This is very good research which shows an association between ultra-processed foods and a higher chance of developing BPH.’

He added: ‘BPH is far more common than prostate cancer in men and can cause severe problems requiring pharmaceuticals or surgery, which can be expensive and which can have side effects.

‘These findings suggest that avoiding ultra-processed foods could be very useful and inexpensive strategy for patients and for the NHS.

‘This research establishes a new, important association but is not proof of cause. For that, more research is now needed.

‘But given the widespread agreement among scientists that ultra-processed food can be harmful to health, it would be wise for men to subscribe to a healthy diet.’