Study: This food may lead to an increased risk of memory problems

Fast food, ready-made meals, and other ultra-processed foods may seem convenient and delicious, but they can cause long-term brain damage. Women who ate a lot of ultra-processed foods in their middle years were more likely to experience memory and concentration problems later in life.

This is evident from a large-scale study by New York University, published in Preventive Medicine . Metro previously reported that junk food can impair memory after just four days.

The researchers followed over 14,000 women from 1985 onwards. For this analysis, they looked at 5,119 participants who completed questionnaires about their cognitive health decades later.

Women who were in the top group for ultra-processed foods, think processed meat, desserts and ready-made products, were 24 percent more likely to have cognitive complaints than women who ate the least of these.

“Women who ate a lot of ultra-processed foods during midlife were 20 percent more likely to report cognitive complaints later in life, indicating poorer cognitive function,” said study leader Yu Chen of the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

Globally, ultra-processed foods now account for more than half of our daily calorie intake. Previous research has already linked them to heart disease and diabetes, but the potential effects on the brain are now becoming clearer. According to Chen, the findings align with previous studies linking a high-fat diet to an increased risk of Alzheimer's .

Highly processed dairy products, such as sweet yogurts and processed cheeses, as well as fast food and processed meat, showed clear associations with cognitive complaints. For sugary products or sauces, no strong association was found once other factors were taken into account.

Metro previously wrote about the consequences of ultra-processed food.

The study also has limitations: the dietary data came from questionnaires conducted decades ago, and beverages such as soda or protein shakes were not included. Moreover, the study included only women, so it's uncertain whether the results also apply to men.

Nevertheless, the researchers emphasize that these kinds of insights are valuable for identifying modifiable risk factors. "We hope to identify lifestyle factors in midlife that influence cognition later in life. Interventions or health education can be tailored accordingly," says Chen.