The Study
Consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with cognitive status in elderly patients
This study looked at what people ate and how well they remembered things at the same time, like taking a snapshot. It found that people who ate more processed snacks and drinks tended to score lower on memory tests, but we don’t know if the snacks made their memory worse or if their memory problems made them choose those foods instead.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
This study looked at older people who were worried about their memory and found that those who ate more junk food (like snacks and sugary drinks) were more likely to have trouble remembering things.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 542 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1The link between junk food and memory problems might be partly because junk food causes inflammation, but the study wasn't big enough to be sure — so we can't say for sure that junk food causes memory loss.
- 2People who ate lots of junk food were 4.24 times more likely to have mild memory problems than those who ate less — but when scientists checked their blood for inflammation markers, that link disappeared.
- 3People without memory problems drank more 100% fruit juice (6.68 g/day vs.
- 40.98 g/day).
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Frontiers in Nutrition
Year
2026
Authors
Margherita Grasso, Francesca L'Episcopo, M. A. Olvera-Moreira, G. Toscano, Stefano Muratore, M. Tripodi, Sabrina Musso, Veronica Bentivegna, Lucrezia Costanzo, Giusi Fatati, Melannie Toral-Noristz, Raynier Zambrano-Villacres, Lisandra León Brizuela, Raffaele Ferri, Giuseppe Lanza, Filippo Caraci
Related Content
Claims (4)
Eating highly processed foods with additives, added sugar, and excess salt leads to worse health outcomes in humans.
Elderly individuals who eat more ultra-processed foods have lower scores on standard cognitive tests compared to those who eat less, even when accounting for age, sex, education, and smoking.
In adults aged 65 and older, higher intake of ultra-processed foods is linked to a higher likelihood of mild cognitive impairment, but this link is no longer statistically significant when plasma levels of TGF-β1 and TNF-α are taken into account.
Among elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment, consuming more ultra-processed foods is linked to lower levels of TGF-β1 and higher levels of TNF-α in the blood.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.