Soft drinks, packaged cereals, chips and processed meats fill most American grocery carts. A new study of more than 17,000 US men now links diets heavy in these ultra-processed foods to a notably higher risk of prostate cancer.
Men in the higher-intake groups had 24% to 31% greater odds of developing prostate cancer than men who ate the least ultra-processed food, according to research published in The American Journal of Medicine by a team at Florida Atlantic University's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine.
Ultra-processed foods, or UPFs, already make up close to 60% of adult calorie intake in the US and roughly 70% of what children eat, the FAU team notes.
Prostate cancer, meanwhile, is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in American men and the second-leading cause of male cancer death after lung cancer, with the American Cancer Society projecting about 333,830 new cases and 36,320 deaths in the US in 2026.
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What the study measured
The researchers analyzed diet and health data from 17,024 men aged 18 and older who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2003 and 2023.
Participants reported everything they ate in two 24-hour dietary recalls, and foods were sorted using the NOVA classification system, which places industrially formulated products such as soft drinks, packaged snacks and processed meats in its ultra-processed category.
Men were then divided into four groups by the share of daily calories they got from UPFs, from less than about 20% at the low end to more than 44% at the high end.
Compared with the lowest-intake group, men in the three higher-intake groups had a 29% greater risk of prostate cancer, and men in the two highest groups had a 30% greater risk. After adjusting for age, race and ethnicity, smoking and poverty status, the increased risk ranged from 24% to 31%.
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The very top group alone showed a possible 34% higher risk, but that finding did not reach statistical significance, which the authors attribute to the smaller number of cancer cases in that group.
What the finding does and does not show
Because the study is observational, it can show a link but cannot prove that ultra-processed diets cause prostate cancer. Diet was self-reported through 24-hour recalls, and cancer diagnoses came from participants' own answers.
Even so, the result adds prostate cancer to a growing list of health problems tied to UPF-heavy diets. Welltica has previously covered evidence linking these foods to a higher risk of heart disease and to a raised risk of dementia.
Senior author Charles H. Hennekens, MD, First Sir Richard Doll Professor of Medicine and Preventive Medicine at FAU, said in the university's announcement that "among adult men in this nationally representative U.S. population, those who consumed higher amounts of UPFs had significantly higher risks of the subsequent development of prostate cancer."
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Co-author Timothy De Ver Dye, PhD, Professor and Chair of the FAU Department of Population Health, added that "reducing consumption of UPFs is a complex public health challenge, particularly given how prevalent and accessible these products are."
Practical takeaways
The FAU team recommends that clinicians help patients cut back on ultra-processed foods and shift toward minimally processed options where possible. In practice, that can mean swapping soft drinks for water, choosing whole grains over sweetened packaged cereals, and picking fresh or minimally processed meats over deli slices and hot dogs.
Men who notice urinary changes, blood in the urine or persistent pelvic discomfort should raise it with their doctor rather than wait, and men over 50 (or over 45 with a family history) can ask their clinician whether prostate cancer screening is right for them.
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This article is made and published by Jesper Bengtson, who may have used AI in the preparation.