Ultra-Processed Foods Harm Muscle Quality, Study Finds
Consuming ultra-processed foods like frozen pizza and soda may increase intramuscular fat, even when controlling for caloric intake
The negative impact of consuming highly processed foods is quickly becoming well-documented, and a new study suggests such a diet could also compromise muscle quality and increase the risk of knee osteoarthritis.
The study examined the link between ultra-processed food, or UPF, consumption – such as packaged snacks, frozen pizza, soft drinks, energy drinks, candies and ready-to-eat meals – and intramuscular fat in the thigh. Researchers analyzed data from 666 participants in the Osteoarthritis Initiative, a nationwide study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that seeks to better understand how to prevent and treat knee osteoarthritis.
Based on imaging, the participants (455 men and 211 women with an average age of 60) were not yet affected by osteoarthritis. The participants, on average, were classified as overweight with a body mass index of 27, and roughly 40% of the foods they had consumed in the past year were ultra-processed.
According to Zehra Akkaya, M.D., a researcher and former Fulbright Scholar in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the University of California, San Francisco, this is the first imaging study to explore the relationship between MRI-based skeletal muscle quality and dietary patterns.
Ultimately, the researchers discovered that the more ultra-processed foods that were consumed, the more intramuscular fat participants had in their thigh muscles, regardless of caloric intake.
“In an adult population at risk for but without knee or hip osteoarthritis, consuming ultra-processed foods is linked to increased fat within the thigh muscles,” Dr. Akkaya said. “These findings held true regardless of dietary energy content, BMI, sociodemographic factors, or physical activity levels.”
The findings were presented earlier this month at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
“Research from our group and others has previously shown that quantitative and functional decline in thigh muscles is potentially associated with onset and progression of knee osteoarthritis,” Dr. Akkaya said. “On MRI images, this decline can be seen as fatty degeneration of the muscle, where streaks of fat replace muscle fibers.”
Dr. Akkaya also noted that osteoarthritis is not just an increasingly prevalent issue, but one that is costly on a global scale.
“It is the largest contributor to non-cancer-related health care costs in the U.S. and around the world,” Dr. Akkaya said. “Since this condition is highly linked to obesity and unhealthy lifestyle choices, there are potential avenues for lifestyle modification and disease management.”
In addition to their potential impact on muscle quality, ultra-processed foods have been demonstrated to be highly addictive, with one Lifesum survey this year revealing that one in six U.S. employees considers themselves hooked on UPFs.
Dr. Casey Means, Levels co-founder and an outspoken critic of highly processed foods, advocates that a clean diet that is rich in nutritious foods plays a massive role in the prevention and reversal of metabolic health conditions.
“We are absolutely missing the forest for the trees in the health and longevity conversation — so focused on the margins and on products,” Dr. Means told Athletech News in June. “When, in fact, we can get most of the way there by targeting simple elements of our diet and lifestyle towards what actually matters.”
“The average American is eating 70% of their calories from ultra-processed food — step one is literally just making that towards eating real, unprocessed food,” she added.
