Eating one bag of chips a day increases dementia risk, new study suggests

A new study from Australia’s Monash University has discovered that a diet high in ultra-processed foods (UPFs) may increase the risk of developing dementia.

The study, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring , analyzed the diets and cognitive health of more than 2,100 Australian dementia-free adults aged 40 to 70 between November 2016 and December 2023.

Researchers found that a daily increase of as little as 10 per cent in a person’s intake of ultra-processed foods is linked to a drop in attention span, even when the overall diet was otherwise healthy.

The study notes that a 10 per cent increase in UPF intake corresponds to approximately 150 g/day, based on the average food intake of the Australian population.

Lead author Dr Barbara Cardoso, from the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food and the Victorian Heart Institute at Monash University, said: “To put our findings in perspective, a 10 per cent increase in UPFs is roughly equivalent to adding a standard packet of chips to your daily diet.”

UPFs are made with ingredients not typically found in kitchens, such as preservatives, emulsifiers, sweeteners, fats and artificial colours.

These foods go through multiple processing techniques like molding and extrusion (hence the name ‘ultra-processed foods’), and include products such as chips, energy drinks, hot dogs, fast food and candy.

In Canada, research by Heart and Stroke Foundation found that nearly half of daily caloric intake comes from ultra-processed foods.

The new study linked higher UPF consumption to an increase in dementia risk factors, which include health conditions such as high blood pressure or obesity.

“Food ultra-processing often destroys the natural structure of food and introduces potentially harmful substances like artificial additives or processing chemicals,” Dr Cardoso said. “These additives suggest the link between diet and cognitive function extends beyond just missing out on foods known as healthy, pointing to mechanisms linked to the degree of food processing itself.”

The results showed that each 10 per cent increase in UPF intake was associated with lower attention scores (-0.05 points) and higher dementia risk (+0.24 points), even among individuals who otherwise adhered to a healthy Mediterranean-style diet.

The study did not find a direct association between UPFs and memory loss, but noted that attention span underpins many important brain functions, such as learning and problem-solving.

It also adds to a growing body of research linking UPF consumption to adverse brain health.

In 2022, a study published in the journal JAMA Neurology found that people whose diets consisted of at least 20 per cent ultra-processed foods experienced a 25 per cent faster decline in executive function and a 28 per cent faster rate of overall cognitive impairment.

The Monash University research notes that UPF consumption has been associated with over 30 adverse health outcomes to date, including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, obesity, mental disorders, and mortality.

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