Foods You Eat Every Day Linked to Higher Prostate Cancer Risk, Study Finds
A study of 17,024 men published in The American Journal of Medicine suggests a link between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and an increased risk of prostate cancer. Researchers found that men with the highest intake of processed items faced a 29% higher risk compared to those with the lowest intake.
Why it matters
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis among American men, and this study highlights the potential public health impact of dietary habits.
Researchers at the university’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine analyzed two decades of national health data covering 17,024 adult men. The findings, published in The American Journal of Medicine , show a consistent connection between factory-made diets and tumor development.
The team tracked participants using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey collected between 2003 and 2023. Each man provided two 24 hour dietary recalls to establish their typical eating habits.
To sort the data, researchers used NOVA , a system that classifies food by its level of industrial processing. They divided participants into four distinct groups:
Men in the three highest consumption groups faced a 29% greater risk of prostate cancer than those who ate the least processed food.
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