Ultra-processed meals don’t simply pack on kilos — they modify the physique in hidden methods.
In a tightly managed examine, younger males gained extra fats mass on a processed food regimen even when calorie counts had been the identical as unprocessed meals. Researchers additionally discovered worrying spikes in plastic-derived chemical substances, together with drops in testosterone and different key fertility hormones.
Obesity, Diabetes, and Sperm Decline
Over the final 50 years, weight problems and kind 2 diabetes have climbed dramatically, whereas sperm high quality has steadily declined. One issue which may be fueling these troubling shifts is the rising reliance on ultra-processed meals, which have been tied to quite a few well being issues. What scientists nonetheless debate is whether or not the hurt comes from the commercial components, the processing strategies, or just because these meals make folks eat greater than they want.
A brand new examine offers recent perception. Researchers discovered that folks placed on extra weight when consuming an ultra-processed food regimen in comparison with a food regimen of minimally processed meals, despite the fact that each contained the very same variety of energy. The human trial additionally revealed that ultra-processed meals uncovered members to larger ranges of pollution already linked to decrease sperm high quality. The work was revealed within the journal Cell Metabolism.
Proving the Hidden Harm
“Our results prove that ultra-processed foods harm our reproductive and metabolic health, even if they’re not eaten in excess. This indicates that it is the processed nature of these foods that makes them harmful,” says Jessica Preston, lead creator of the examine, who carried out the analysis throughout her PhD on the University of Copenhagen’s NNF Center for Basic Metabolic Research (CBMR).
Same Calories, Different Outcomes
To get the absolute best knowledge, the scientists in contrast the well being influence of unprocessed and ultra-processed diets on the identical particular person. They recruited 43 males aged 20 to 35, who spent three weeks on every of the 2 diets, with three months ‘washout’ in between. Half began on the ultra-processed and half began on the unprocessed food regimen. Half of the lads additionally obtained a high-calorie food regimen with an additional 500 every day energy, whereas half obtained the traditional quantity of energy for his or her measurement, age and bodily exercise ranges. They weren’t instructed which food regimen they had been on. Both the unprocessed and ultra-processed diets had the identical quantity of energy, protein, carbs and fat.
Men gained round 1 kg extra of fats mass whereas on the ultra-processed food regimen in comparison with the unprocessed food regimen, no matter whether or not they had been on the traditional or extra calorie food regimen. Several different markers of cardiovascular well being had been additionally affected.
Ultra-Processed Foods Polluted With Toxins
The scientists additionally found a worrying enhance within the degree of the hormone-disrupting phthalate cxMINP, a substance utilized in plastics, in males on the ultra-processed food regimen. Men on this food regimen additionally noticed decreases of their ranges of testosterone and follicle-stimulating hormone, that are essential for sperm manufacturing.
“We were shocked by how many body functions were disrupted by ultra-processed foods, even in healthy young men. The long-term implications are alarming and highlight the need to revise nutritional guidelines to better protect against chronic disease,” says the examine’s senior creator Professor Romain Barrès from the University of Copenhagen’s NNF Center for Basic Metabolic Research, and the Université Côte d’Azur.
Reference: “Effect of ultra-processed food consumption on male reproductive and metabolic health” by Jessica M. Preston, Jo Iversen, Antonia Hufnagel, Line Hjort, Jodie Taylor, Clara Sanchez, Victoria George, Ann N. Hansen, Lars Ängquist, Susan Hermann, Jeffrey M. Craig, Signe Torekov, Christian Lindh, Karin S. Hougaard, Marcelo A. Nóbrega, Stephen J. Simpson and Romain Barrès, 28 August 2025, Cell Metabolism.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2025.08.004
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