An international group of scientists found that high consumption of ultra-processed food (UPF) leads to a decrease in physical strength, in particular, a decrease in walking speed in both men and women, and a weakening of grip strength. The study was published in the journal Nutrients.
The study is based on data from 2,547 participants in the Framingham Offspring Cohort, who were followed for an average of 10.8 years.
Each additional daily intake of UPF was associated with a decrease in walking speed of 0.001 m/s per year. Men also had a decrease in grip strength of 0.02 kg per year (p = 0.04).
"These results suggest that highly processed foods may contribute to a gradual decline in mobility and strength," said Shivani Sahni, director of the nutrition program at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Research on Aging and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.
"Limiting the consumption of processed foods and emphasizing whole, nutrient-dense foods is an important step for maintaining physical fitness and healthy aging," added Elsa Konechinski, lead author of the study from Tufts University's Friedman School of Food Science and Policy.
According to the authors, the results highlight the key role of nutrition in maintaining health in old age and the need for further research into the biological mechanisms linking over-processed foods and functional decline.
