Consistent consumption of ultra-processed foods may up mortality risk in middle-aged men and women.

​This study investigated the ultra-processed food-premature death hypothesis. Researchers tracked the diets and mortality records of 44,551 French men and women aged 45 years and above between 2009 and 2017. 

Researchers found out that the odds of suffering from early deaths due to chronic diseases and other causes rose with increase in the level of consumption of ultra-processed foods. This 2019 study of French men and women documented a positive association between high intake of processed foods and overall mortality risk.