Doctor says one food type has 'overtaken tobacco' as leading cause of early death

A doctor has revealed the one food type that has "overtaken tobacco" as the leading cause of early death. Doctor Chris van Tulleken appeared on the Diary of a CEO podcast with Steven Bartlett to warn Brits they're probably already consuming this toxic staple.

The infectious disease specialist, who doubles as a science presenter for the was talking about his book, Ultra-Processed People, when he revealed the dangers of eating junk foods. He said: "For a very long time, we have been incredibly confused about what to eat.

"We've called the foods that harm us junk food and processed - high fat, salt and sugar food. We've not had a way of labeling food even as a pandemic of disease has taken over the world." He said ultra-processed foods are being consumed across the world.

He said low-income earners were most likely to purchase junk food. He added: "So poor diet, which means a diet high in ultra processed foods, has overtaken tobacco as a leading cause of early death on planet Earth for humans, for the animals we farm and for wild animals."

He said this was because ultra-processed food - and how it's produced - has made it the leading cause of biodiversity loss and the second-leading cause of carbon emissions. He also said it was the leading cause of plastic pollution.

The BBC star said the definition for ultra-processed foods was developed 12 years ago to describe a "western industrial American diet". He said it was done by a team of researchers in Brazil. Dr van Tulleken said countries in Central and South America were carrying out the best research because "obesity was essentially unheard of and within a decade, it went to being the dominant public health problem".

He explained: "The only thing that has changed was the influx of, broadly an American diet of industrial processed foods. The definition was invented in 2009/2010 and we've had a decade evidence now that is very clear that it is ultra processed food that is responsible, not just for pandemic weight gain and obesity, but also for a long list of other health problems, including early death."

Dr van Tulleken said research showed ultra-processed foods can be just as addictive as tobacco, alcohol, gambling or drugs for some people. He also said "nagging" loved ones to stop eating junk food and get fit only pushes them towards the things that are harmful.

One found high ultra-processed food consumption is linked with an increased risk of a variety of chronic diseases and mental health disorders. The study found: "At present, not a single study reported an association between ultra-processed foods (UPF) intake and a beneficial health outcome.

"These findings suggest that dietary patterns with low consumption of UPFs may render broad public health benefits."Another concluded: "Higher UPF consumption was associated with increased all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality risk, with multiple metabolic pathways playing mediating roles."