2025-11-14 09:28:41

Women under 50 who regularly eat ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are far more likely to develop pre-cancerous growths in the bowel, alarming new research has revealed.

Scientists from PROSPECT — a global Cancer Grand Challenges team — analysed endoscopy results from more than 29,100 women, finding that those who ate the most UPFs faced a 45 per cent higher risk of developing bowel polyps, a known precursor to colorectal cancer.

Colon cancer is the only major cancer type rising exclusively in younger adults, prompting researchers to probe environmental and dietary causes.

UPFs – including packaged breads, breakfast foods, sauces, spreads and sugary drinks – are typically low in fibre and packed with additives such as emulsifiers that disrupt gut health.

Lead author Dr. Andrew Chan, of Massachusetts General Hospital, said: “We’re seeing more cases of bowel cancer in younger adults and we still don’t understand why. Diet, exercise and changes to the gut microbiome may all play a role.”

Published in JAMA Oncology, the study tracked female nurses aged 25 to 42 over 24 years.

Those with the highest UPF intake tended to have higher BMI, smoke more and exercise less – but even after adjusting for these factors, UPFs were strongly linked with early-onset tumours.

Artificially sweetened drinks were the biggest driver behind the trend.

Researchers warned that a “cocktail effect” of multiple additives may damage the gut barrier and alter microbes that protect against disease.

Professor Charles Swanton, Cancer Research UK’s chief clinician, said the findings “shed light on how diet and other factors are associated with gut health and changes in the bowel linked to cancer risk,” though he stressed more work is needed to prove cause and effect.

Bowel cancer diagnoses in under-50s have rocketed by more than 50 per cent since the 1990s in England, and US experts predict it could become the most common cancer in younger adults by 2030.

Cancer Research UK says more than half of cases are preventable and is urging government-level action to make healthier diets easier and cheaper for everyone.

Visit Bang Bizarre (main website)