The heightened consumption of ultra-processed foods -- such as ham, sausage, instant noodles, ice cream, and carbonated beverages -- has been found to raise the risk of type 2 diabetes among Korean adults, a study showed.

While some U.S. and European studies have reported a positive link between ultra-processed food consumption and diabetes risk, there is limited information regarding this association in Asian populations.

A Korean research team, led by Professor Hannah Oh at the Department of Health Policy and Management of Korea University, conducted a prospective analysis on 7,438 individuals aged 40-69 years from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study Ansan-Ansung cohort. 

Ultra-processed foods were defined as “food products that are made mostly from substances extracted from foods and manufactured by industrial processes, frequently using additives such as colorants, emulsifiers, artificial flavors and sweeteners.” 

Over a 15-year span from 2001 to 2019, a comprehensive follow-up study identified a total of 1,187 cases of type 2 diabetes.

Recently published in The Journal of Nutrition, the findings revealed that the highest quartile of ultra-processed food intake was associated with a 34 percent higher risk of type 2 diabetes compared to the lowest quartile.

Upon closer examination of individual ultra-processed food items, the study found that 1 percent increased consumption of ham/sausage pushed up the risk of type 2 diabetes by 40 percent, ice cream, by 8 percent, instant noodles, 7 percent, and carbonated beverages, 2 percent.

Intriguingly, a higher intake of candy/chocolate was linked to a decreased risk of diabetes, suggesting that further research was needed to examine the mechanisms and causality involved. 

Meanwhile, Jung Hee-won, a professor of geriatrics at Asan Medical Center, has repeatedly said in media interviews that ultra-processed foods are the biggest risk to “accelerated aging.”

The habit of eating ultra-processed foods frequently accelerates cellular aging and increases the risk of developing vascular disease and metabolic syndrome, including obesity and fatty liver, Jung said.