MONDAY, Oct. 19, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- For older U.S. adults, total ultraprocessed food (UPF) intake appears to not be associated with incident colorectal cancer (CRC), according to a study published online Oct. 15 in PLOS Medicine.
Leila Abar, Ph.D., from the National Institutes of Health in Rockville, Maryland, and colleagues estimated the associations of UPF and established CRC-related dietary factors with CRC incidence among U.S. adults aged 50 to 71 years enrolled in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study in 1995 to 1996. Participants self-reported dietary intake using a food frequency questionnaire; UPF intake was categorized into sex-specific quintiles. A total of 461,682 participants who were cancer-free at baseline were followed through 2018 for cancer incidence; 10,075 colorectal adenocarcinoma cases were diagnosed.
The researchers found no association for UPF intake with CRC incidence (hazard ratio5th versus 1st quintile: 0.97; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.91 to 1.03; P = 0.55). Inverse associations with CRC incidence were seen for whole grain, fiber, dairy, and calcium intakes from UPF sources, while a positive association with CRC incidence was seen for meat intake from UPF sources.
"When we looked at food groups, like whole grains, dairy, and meat, by UPF or non-UPF source, we found that associations were in line with current dietary guidance for colorectal cancer prevention such that higher whole grain and dairy but lower meat intakes were associated with lower colorectal cancer incidence," coauthor Erikka Loftfield, M.P.H., Ph.D., also from the National Institutes of Health, said in a statement.
