Is Your Diet Aging You Faster? Scientists Reveal the Hidden Impact of Processed Foods

A revealing new study links ultra-processed foods to accelerated biological aging, showing that the effects go beyond poor nutrition.

By analyzing over 22,000 participants, researchers discovered that people who consumed more of these highly processed products were biologically older than their chronological age. The findings suggest that industrial processing and additives may disrupt key physiological functions, leading to faster aging at the cellular level.

Ultra-Processed Foods and Accelerated Aging

A study by researchers at the Research Unit of Epidemiology and Prevention at I.R.C.C.S. Neuromed in Pozzilli, in collaboration with LUM University of Casamassima, found that consuming large amounts of ultra-processed foods is linked to faster biological aging — regardless of overall diet quality. The findings were published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Italian researchers analyzed data from more than 22,000 participants in the Moli-sani Study, one of Europe’s largest population health studies. They used over 30 blood biomarkers to assess biological age, which — unlike chronological age based on birthdate — reflects the body’s true physiological state, including the health of organs, tissues, and systems. This means a person’s biological age can be higher or lower than their actual years.

What Are Ultra-Processed Foods?

Using a detailed food frequency questionnaire, researchers were able to estimate participant’s consumption of ultra-processed foods, that is foods made in part or entirely with substances not routinely used in the kitchen (e.g., hydrolyzed proteins, maltodextrins, hydrogenated fats), that generally contain various additives, such as dyes, preservatives, antioxidants, anticaking agents, flavor enhancers and sweeteners. Ultra-processed foods include not only packaged snacks or sugary drinks, but also apparently ‘harmless’ products such as mass-produced or packaged bread, fruit yogurt, some breakfast cereals, or meat alternatives, to give a few examples.

The study showed that a high consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with a significant acceleration of the biological aging of participants. Basically, people turned out to be biologically older than their actual chronological age.

The Body’s Internal Clock

Biological aging is in fact an “internal clock” of our body, which can tick faster or slower than the years marked on the calendar, reflecting the true state of health of the organism.

“Our data – says Simona Esposito, researcher at the Research Unit of Epidemiology and Prevention and first author of the study – show that a high consumption of ultra-processed foods not only has a negative impact on health in general, but could also accelerate aging itself, suggesting a connection that goes beyond the poor nutritional quality of these foods.”

The Hidden Risks of Food Processing

“The mechanisms through which ultra-processed foods can be harmful to human health are not yet entirely clear – explains researcher Marialaura Bonaccio, nutritional epidemiologist at the Research Unit of Epidemiology and Prevention-IRCCS Neuromed – Besides being nutritionally inadequate, being rich in sugars, salt, and saturated or trans fats, these foods undergo intense industrial processing that actually alters their food matrix, with the consequent loss of nutrients and fiber. This can have important consequences for a series of physiological functions, including glucose metabolism, and the composition and functionality of the gut microbiota. Also, these products are often wrapped in plastic packaging, thus becoming vehicles of substances toxic to the body.”

Rethinking Dietary Guidelines

“This study – adds Licia Iacoviello, director of the Research Unit of Epidemiology and Prevention at the IRCCS Neuromed and full professor of Hygiene at LUM in Casamassima – prompts us once again to reevaluate the current dietary recommendations, which should also include warnings on limiting the intake of ultra-processed food in our daily diet. Actually, some nutrient-dense packaged foods can be classified as ultra-processed, and this suggests the need to guide people towards dietary choices that address also the degree of food processing.”

Reference: “Ultra-processed food consumption is associated with the acceleration of biological aging in the Moli-sani Study” by Simona Esposito, Alessandro Gialluisi, Augusto Di Castelnuovo, Simona Costanzo, Antonietta Pepe, Emilia Ruggiero, Amalia De Curtis, Mariarosaria Persichillo, Chiara Cerletti, Maria Benedetta Donati, Giovanni de Gaetano, Licia Iacoviello and Marialaura Bonaccio, 4 November 2024, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.