Relationship between Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Risk of Diabetes Mellitus: A Mini-Review

Abstract

Studying the factors that cause diabetes and conducting clinical trials has become a priority, particularly raising awareness of the dangers of the disease and how to overcome it. Diet habits are one of the most important risks that must be understood and carefully applied to reduce the risk of diabetes. Nowadays, consuming enough home-cooked food has become a challenge, particularly with modern life performance, pushing people to use processed foods. Ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption has grown dramatically over the last few decades worldwide. This growth is accompanied by the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. UPFs represent three main health concerns: (i) they are generally high in non-nutritive compounds such as sugars, sodium, and trans fat and low in nutritional compounds such as proteins and fibers, (ii) they contain different types of additives that may cause severe health issues, and (iii) they are presented in packages made of synthetic materials that may also cause undesirable health side-effects. The association between the consumption of UPF and the risk of developing diabetes was discussed in this review. The high consumption of UPF, almost more than 10% of the diet proportion, could increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in adult individuals. In addition, UPF may slightly increase the risk of developing gestational diabetes. Further efforts are needed to confirm this association; studies such as randomized clinical trials and prospective cohorts in different populations and settings are highly recommended. Moreover, massive improvement in foods’ dietary guidelines to increase the awareness of UPF and their health concerns is highly recommended.

“A disease that God has given me” patients and caregivers’ perspectives on diabetes in southeastern Tanzania

“…Study participants would generally have had discussions with their medical practitioners in an attempt to understand the cause of the disease and may have tried to identify a specific cause for their own illness. The association between food consumption and the emerging non communicable diseases is widely reported in the literature [ 41 – 43 ]. For example, high consumption of fats especially trans-fats and saturates are commonly implicated in the cause of insulin resistance, glucose intolerance and poor diabetes health outcomes [ 44 ].…”

Association Between Risk for Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Prevention Among Faculty Members and Administrative Staff of a Saudi University

“…Understanding and effectively implementing dietary habits is essential to reducing the risk of developing diabetes. A study on the relationship between ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and T2DM reported that high consumption of ultra-processed food could increase the risk of developing T2DM in adult individuals and gestational diabetes in women [ 30 ]. In the current study, 37.22% of respondents claimed to consume processed food frequently.…”

Gut-Derived Peptide Hormone Analogues and Potential Treatment of Bone Disorders in Obesity and Diabetes Mellitus

“…The increase in obesity and T2DM is partly related to a progressively ageing population, adoption of a more sedentary lifestyle and consumption of high energy processed foods. 5 In keeping with this, the prevalence of osteoporosis and fragility bone fractures is also rising. 6 More notably, obesity and diabetes independently increase bone fracture risk, linked to impairments in bone turnover and a detrimental alteration of bone microarchitecture.…”