Junk food like sodas, potato chips, packaged snacks and processed meats has long been linked to higher risks of diabetes and hypertension.

Now, an increasing body of research is also tying ultra-processed foods to cardiovascular disease.

The latest is a study by researchers at Florida Atlantic University, which found those who consumed more junk food had a 47% higher risk of heart attack or stroke compared with those who ate the least.

The findings were stark enough for researchers to warn that the nation’s fondness for processed foods represents an urgent public health priority similar to past efforts to curb tobacco use.

It comes as the food on American tables has come under increasing criticism from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as part of his Make America Healthy Again initiative.

The study, which was published in the American Journal of Medicine, calls for more large-scale observational studies to verify its findings. In the meantime, health care providers should advise patients to decrease consumption of junk food, along with adopting other healthy lifestyle changes, it states.

“These results have major implications for future research as well as clinical care and public policy,” said Charles H. Hennekens, professor of medicine and preventive medicine at FAU Schmidt College of Medicine.

Around 70% of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, and nearly a third of adolescents have prediabetes, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. A 2016 study found that junk food comprises as much as 60% of American’s diets.

In January, the departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture released new dietary guidelines and described the nation’s diet as a “national health emergency.” The guidelines urged Americans to eat real food like meat, vegetables, fruit and whole grains.

The same message was repeated during Sunday night’s Super Bowl 60 broadcast with an advertisement showing former heavyweight world championship boxer Mike Tyson biting into an apple while the messages “Processed food kills” and “Eat real food” flashed. It was paid for by the MAHA Center, a new advocacy group aligned with the Make America Healthy Again movement, according to a New York Times report.

Florida Atlantic researchers from the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2021 to 2023 to conduct their study.

Just under 4,800 adults who provided at least one day of detailed dietary records and information about heart attack or stroke were included in the study. The participants reported everything they ate for two days, which researchers used to calculate how much of their diet was ultra-processed food.

For the purposes of the study, ultra-processed foods were categorized as those that are industrially modified and loaded with added fats, sugars, starches, salts and chemical additives like emulsifiers.

“Addressing (ultra-processed foods) isn’t just about individual choices — it’s about creating environments where the healthy option is the easy option,” said Hennekens. “Clinical guidance and public health education are necessary to make nutritious foods accessible and affordable for everyone.”

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