Study links ultra-processed foods to attention
- Monash University, the University of São Paulo and Deakin University reported that adults eating more ultra-processed food scored worse on attention tests. - The cross-sectional study covered 2,192 dementia-free Australians aged 40 to 70, with each 10-point rise in ultra-processed intake tied to poorer focus. - The link held after accounting for Mediterranean-style diet quality, separating food processing from overall eating patterns. (monash.edu)
Ultra-processed foods are factory-made products like soft drinks, packaged snacks and ready meals that rely on additives, industrial ingredients and heavy processing. A new study linked eating more of them to poorer attention in adults without dementia. (monash.edu) (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) The study, published April 23 in *Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring*, analyzed 2,192 Australian adults ages 40 to 70 in the Healthy Brain Project. Researchers classified diets with the Nova food-processing system and compared them with cognitive testing and dementia-risk scores. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) Participants got about 41% of their daily energy from ultra-processed foods, close to Australia’s 42% national average, Monash University said. Higher ultra-processed intake was associated with lower scores on tests of visual attention and processing speed. (monash.edu) Lead author Barbara Cardoso said a 10% increase in ultra-processed food intake was roughly like adding a standard packet of chips to a daily diet. That increase was tied to a measurable drop in focus on standardized attention tests. (monash.edu) (neurosciencenews.com) Researchers also found higher ultra-processed intake tracked with higher modifiable dementia-risk scores, which include conditions like high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes. The paper said it did not find a direct association with memory performance in this analysis. (monash.edu) (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) The analysis adjusted for overall diet quality, including adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet, and the attention finding still held. That means the share of food that was ultra-processed mattered even among people whose diets otherwise scored as healthy. (monash.edu) (epocrates.com) The study was cross-sectional, which means it measured diet and cognition at the same time rather than proving one caused the other. The authors said longer-term studies are still needed to test whether reducing ultra-processed foods improves attention or lowers dementia risk. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) For now, the paper adds attention to the list of health measures associated with ultra-processed diets. In this dataset, the signal showed up in focus and dementia-risk profiles, not in memory loss itself. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
