In addition to being bad for your health, eating ultra-processed foods is bad for the environment, a new study reveals.
Posted at 12:00 a.m.
The study by scientists from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and Deakin University, Australia, demonstrated that increasing the number of ultra-processed foods in the diet leads to an increase in water consumption.
Indeed, the diet of people who consume a lot of ultra-processed foods requires on average 10% more water than those of people who consume little, the equivalent of 369 liters more water per day, observed the researchers.
Ultra-processed foods continue to grow in popularity. This product class includes, but is not limited to, fast food meals, instant noodles, frozen pizzas, pastries, soft drinks, sausages, candies, ice cream and alcoholic beverages.
“Increased water intake adds to the negative effects of ultra-processed foods on diet quality and the incidence of serious diseases, and is an additional reason to avoid them,” argues the lead author. of the study, Josefa Garzillo.
Carbon footprint
More than 10% of the study participants’ total diet carbon footprint was caused by ultra-processed foods.
“This amount of carbon in the diet could be reduced by replacing some of it with healthy and necessary foods, such as vegetables, which have a lower carbon footprint,” says Ms.me Garzillo in interview with The Press.
The study analyzed data from more than 30,000 Brazilians aged 10 and older. According to Mme Garzillo, it is possible that in countries where the consumption of ultra-processed meat is higher than in Brazil, the carbon footprint exceeds the figures they obtained.
Strong growth in consumption
In Canada, the consumption of processed and ultra-processed foods jumped 136% between 1938 and 2011, according to a study by the University of Montreal. Nearly half of the calories consumed by Canadians come from ultra-processed foods, Jean-Claude Moubarac, professor in the nutrition department at the University of Montreal, demonstrated in 2017.
Several characteristics can explain the increase in their production and consumption. There is in particular the relatively affordable price of these products, linked to inexpensive ingredients, the convenience, since the foodstuffs keep for a long time, as well as their taste, due to the large quantities of salt, sugar or fats that they contain, detail the researchers of the study.
According to Mme Garzillo, this research could help guide public policies and the food choices of the population. “There is an urgent need to correct food production and consumption patterns, while preserving water, the climate and biodiversity,” she concludes.