No link found between ultra-processed foods and faster cognitive decline over 10 years
Mar 8th 2026
A 10-year study of 1,371 older Dutch adults found no evidence that higher intake of ultra-processed foods predicts faster cognitive decline, and suggests overall diet quality may be more important for brain aging.
- Study tracked 1,371 Dutch adults aged 55 and older for 10 years using five cognitive tests.
- Ultra-processed food intake was classified with the NOVA system and measured by grams per day.
- Participants were divided into quartiles by percentage of ultra-processed food, which averaged about 20 percent of daily food weight.
- Analyses adjusted for age, sex, education, partner status, total energy intake, physical activity, BMI, alcohol, smoking, depression, chronic disease and overall diet quality.
- Researchers found no association between ultra-processed food consumption and baseline cognition or rate of cognitive decline.
- Excluding mass-produced bread from the ultra-processed category did not change the results.
- Key limitations include self-reported dietary data and the NOVA classification not distinguishing nutritional quality across ultra-processed items.
- Authors suggest future studies should examine specific processed food types and nutrient profiles over longer follow-up periods.