People who eat lots of ultra-processed foods are more likely to develop diabetes, Reuters reports.

A new French study offers fresh evidence linking these foods to type 2 diabetes.

We advise people to limit their consumption of ultra-processed foods and privilege unprocessed or minimally processed foods - of course in addition to a nutritionally healthy diet low in salt, sugar, fat and energy density; an optimal BMI; and healthy lifestyle behaviors,” said lead study author Bernard Srour and senior author Mathilde Touvier of Universite Paris 13 in France.

Limit the intake of red and processed meats and sodas

People looking to lower their risk of diabetes should limit their intake of red and processed meats and sodas and other sugary drinks, Srour and Touvier said by email. People should also eat lots of yogurt, vegetables, whole grains and nuts to help decrease their diabetes risk, they advised.

Each 10-percentage point increase in the amount of ultra-processed foods in participants’ diets was associated with a 15% higher risk of developing diabetes, researchers report in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The study

Researchers examined data on more than 104,000 adults without diabetes. Participants were 43 years old, on average, at the start of the study.

Researchers followed most of the people for at least six years. During the study period, 821 people were diagnosed with diabetes.

About 17% of participants’ diets consisted of ultra-processed foods. People who consumed more of these foods tended to eat more calories overall, to have lower-quality diets, and to be more likely to be obese and inactive.

Read the whole study HERE