Eating a lot of junk food might make adults more likely to feel depressed or have mental health issues, possibly because it messes with your gut and causes inflammation in your body.

Eating a lot of packaged junk food might be linked to stomach and gut problems like serious diseases or ongoing discomfort, according to studies that watch what people eat and their health.

Eating lots of ultra-processed foods is linked to having several chronic diseases at once, feeling weaker, living with less quality of life, and having long-lasting body damage — especially in older people.

Eating a lot of ultra-processed foods might change the bacteria in your gut, which could lead to stomach and bowel problems that cause inflammation.

Eating a lot of highly processed foods might lower the good bacteria in your gut, raise the bad ones that cause inflammation, and could lead to health problems like diabetes or heart disease.