A landmark longitudinal study tracking 30,000 adults over 15 years has found a significant association between high consumption of ultra-processed foods and accelerated cognitive decline in middle age, researchers at the Global Institute of Nutritional Science announced Wednesday.

Participants who sourced more than 20 percent of their daily calories from ultra-processed products — defined as industrially formulated foods containing additives not typically used in home cooking — showed measurably faster decline in memory and executive function compared to those with lower consumption.

Understanding the Mechanism

Researchers believe the association may be driven by a combination of factors, including chronic inflammation linked to certain food additives, disruption of the gut-brain axis, and the displacement of more nutritionally dense foods from the diet.

“This isn’t about occasional indulgence,” said lead author Professor Alicia Moran. “The people showing the sharpest declines were those for whom ultra-processed food had become the dietary baseline, not the exception.”

The study, published in the journal Neurology Today , has prompted calls for updated nutritional labelling requirements and limits on ultra-processed food marketing targeted at children and adolescents.