Junk food linked to higher risk of bone disease in new study

Add debilitating bone disease to the growing list of ailments attributed to ultra-processed foods (UPF).

Previous research has linked UPFs, which include products such as packaged foods, sugary drinks, mass-produced breads, fruit yogurts, some breakfast cereals and meat alternatives, to a host of negative health effects, from obesity and diabetes to heart disease, depression, dementia and more. One study has even suggested that eating these foods may increase the risk of early death.

And now, according to new research, the walk to that early grave may be especially painful as UPFs may be a factor in the development of knee osteoarthritis.

The most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis, is mainly caused by the wear and tear of the protective layer of cartilage on the ends of our bones – similar to the wear and tear of a rubber tire.

“Osteoarthritis is most common in the hip joints, causing pain in the hips and sides of the hips, and the knee joints, leading to pain in the front, sides or back of the knees,” Dr. Vinay K. Aggarwal, a hip and knee reconstruction specialist at NYU Langone, recently told The Post.

Studies show that every pound of excess body weight can increase the pressure on the knee joints, creating four to six times the force on those joints.

For this latest study, presented today at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting, researchers focused specifically on the relationship between UPF intake and intramuscular thigh fat.

“The novelty of this study is that it investigates the influence of diet quality, specifically the role of ultra-processed foods in relation to intramuscular fat in thigh muscles assessed by MRI,” said study author Zehra Akkaya, MD, a former Fulbright researcher . Research Fellow in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the University of California, San Francisco.

“This is the first imaging study to examine the relationship between MRI-based skeletal muscle quality and diet quality.”

The team analyzed data from subjects at risk but not yet affected by osteoarthritis.

Of the 666 individuals evaluated (455 men, 211 women), the median age was 60 years. The test group was mostly overweight, with an average BMI of 27. Approximately 40% of the foods the test subjects ate in the past year were ultra-processed. .

For reference, recent research has shown that 60% of Americans’ daily calorie intake comes from ultra-processed foods.

The researchers found that the more UPF people consumed, the more intramuscular fat they had in their thigh muscles, regardless of how many calories they consumed or whether or not they were physically active.

“In an adult population at risk for but without osteoarthritis of the knee or hip, consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with increased fat within the thigh muscles,” Akkaya said. “These findings hold true regardless of dietary energy content, BMI, sociodemographic factors, or physical activity levels.”

The specific factors that precipitate osteoarthritis, such as age and genetic predisposition, are beyond our control. However, as the study highlights, managing knee osteoarthritis depends on modifiable factors such as a healthy diet that limits UPFs.

“Osteoarthritis is an increasingly prevalent and costly global health issue,” said Akkaya. “Since this condition is highly associated with obesity and unhealthy lifestyle choices, there are potential avenues for lifestyle modification and disease management.”

Akkaya hopes that by illustrating the relationship between UPFs and muscle composition, people will make more informed dietary decisions. “Understanding this relationship may have important clinical implications, as it provides a new perspective on how diet quality affects musculoskeletal health.”

A previous large-scale study found that medications like Ozempic and Wegovy can seriously reduce knee pain for those with moderate to severe osteoarthritis.