​Vegetarians consume more ultra-processed food than non-vegetarians, says study

As plant-based diets gain popularity for health, environmental, or ethical reasons, a new study suggests that this switch may have an undesirable side effect: increased consumption of ultra-processed foods. The research published in The Lancet, titled ‘Plant-based dietary patterns and ultra-processed food consumption: a cross-sectional analysis of the UK Biobank’ found that vegetarians consumed more ultra-processed food (UPF) compared to non-vegetarians.

About 200,000 people participated in the UK Biobank project. This study looked at how much ultra-processed and minimally processed food people ate, comparing regular and low-red meat eaters, flexitarians, pescatarians, vegetarians, and vegans in a large group of adults in the UK. And the results were alarming. The study found out that vegetarians consumed more ultra-processed food (by around 1.3 percentage points) compared to other people, who were red meat eaters. Interestingly, vegans consumed slightly more ultra-processed food than regular red meat eaters, though the difference was minimal (1.2 percentage points).

“This UK-based study found higher UPF consumption in vegetarian diets and lower in diets with a modest amount of meat or fish,” reads the findings published in the journal.

The study emphasizes the importance of encouraging diets that favor minimally processed foods, even while transitioning toward more sustainable eating habits. “It is important that policies which encourage the urgently needed transition to more sustainable dietary patterns also promote rebalancing diets towards minimally processed foods.”

In the industrialized world, plant-based diets do not always equate to fresh fruits and vegetables. Often times when people avoid eating meat, it gets replaced with processed alternatives such as meat substitutes, prepared ready meals, and convenience foods, that are calorie-loaded, saturated fat, salt, sugar, and all kinds of additives.

A previous study revealed that consuming plant-based ultra-processed foods to a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases.

A multinational study by researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), in collaboration with the University of Vienna (Austria), found that higher consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with an increased risk of cancer and cardiometabolic multimorbidity.