{"id":36675,"date":"2025-11-13T15:03:30","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T16:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=36675"},"modified":"2025-11-20T11:23:01","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T11:23:01","slug":"ultraprocessed-foods-linked-to-colorectal-cancer-risk-in-women-under-50","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=36675","title":{"rendered":"Ultraprocessed Foods Linked to Colorectal Cancer Risk in Women Under 50"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-79rysd e1wiw3jv0\">The study\u2019s findings track with recent research on the alarming rise of the cancer in younger adults.<\/p>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-ar1ez3\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">About 15 years ago, Dr. Andrew T. Chan, a gastroenterologist at Mass General Brigham in Boston, noticed that more of his colorectal cancer patients were skewing younger than usual. Some were in their 20s, 30s and 40s compared with his more typical patients in their 60s and 70s.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">His observation was part of an alarming trend that <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/10\/01\/well\/cancer-young-people.html\" title>experts are now racing to understand<\/a>: Colorectal cancer rates have been mysteriously climbing among people under 50. In a study <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamaoncology\/fullarticle\/10.1001\/jamaoncol.2025.4777?guestAccessKey=f519cbac-0500-444e-a957-91e4ae77c2e7&amp;utm_source=For_The_Media&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=ftm_links&amp;utm_content=tfl&amp;utm_term=111325\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">published today in JAMA Oncology<\/a>, Dr. Chan and his colleagues suggest that ultraprocessed foods \u2014 which <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2025\/10\/16\/well\/eat\/ultraprocessed-food-junk-history.html\" title>have increased in our diets<\/a> over the decades \u2014 may be playing a role.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">He and his team looked at women in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Those who ate more ultraprocessed foods had higher risks of developing precancerous colorectal polyps \u2014 abnormal clumps of cells that grow in the colon or rectum and can develop into cancer \u2014 before they turned 50 compared with those who consumed fewer. Ultraprocessed foods include sugary sodas, processed meats, candies, chips <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/06\/well\/eat\/ultraprocessed-foods-harmful-health.html\" title>and other products<\/a> made with ingredients you wouldn\u2019t typically find in a home kitchen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">The study was large and was the first to look at how ultraprocessed foods may influence the development of colorectal polyps in people under 50, said Dr. Y. Nancy You, a colorectal surgeon at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, who was not involved with the research. The findings add important context to the larger question of why colorectal cancer rates are rising in younger people, she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">But the study also had limitations, Dr. You cautioned. While it found an association between ultraprocessed foods and precancerous polyps, it could not directly prove that eating the foods caused the growths.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-11zi5nh eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-37dec7e6\">What the New Study Concluded<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">From 1991 to 2015, researchers followed more than 29,000 female nurses who were in their mid-20s to early 40s at the start of the study. The nurses filled out detailed dietary questionnaires every four years, and all of them had at least one colonoscopy before age 50.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-kbghgg\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171d1bw\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F11%2F13%2Fwell%2Feat%2Fultraprocessed-foods-colorectal-cancer-risk.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F11%2F13%2Fwell%2Feat%2Fultraprocessed-foods-colorectal-cancer-risk.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F11%2F13%2Fwell%2Feat%2Fultraprocessed-foods-colorectal-cancer-risk.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F11%2F13%2Fwell%2Feat%2Fultraprocessed-foods-colorectal-cancer-risk.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The study\u2019s findings track with recent research on the alarming rise of the cancer in younger adults.About 15 years ago, Dr. Andrew T. Chan, a gastroenterologist at Mass General Brigham in Boston, noticed that more of his colorectal cancer patients were skewing younger than usual. Some were in their 20s, 30s and 40s compared with his more typical patients in their 60s and 70s.His observation was part of an alarming trend that experts are now racing to understand: Colorectal cancer rates have been mysteriously climbing among people under 50. In a study published today in JAMA Oncology, Dr. Chan and his colleagues suggest that ultraprocessed foods \u2014 which have increased in our diets over the decades \u2014 may be playing a role.He and his team looked at women in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Those who ate more ultraprocessed foods had higher risks of developing precancerous colorectal polyps \u2014 abnormal clumps of cells that grow in the colon or rectum and can develop into cancer \u2014 before they turned 50 compared with those who consumed fewer. Ultraprocessed foods include sugary sodas, processed meats, candies, chips and other products made with ingredients you wouldn\u2019t typically find in a home kitchen.The study was large and was the first to look at how ultraprocessed foods may influence the development of colorectal polyps in people under 50, said Dr. Y. Nancy You, a colorectal surgeon at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, who was not involved with the research. The findings add important context to the larger question of why colorectal cancer rates are rising in younger people, she said.But the study also had limitations, Dr. You cautioned. While it found an association between ultraprocessed foods and precancerous polyps, it could not directly prove that eating the foods caused the growths.What the New Study ConcludedFrom 1991 to 2015, researchers followed more than 29,000 female nurses who were in their mid-20s to early 40s at the start of the study. The nurses filled out detailed dietary questionnaires every four years, and all of them had at least one colonoscopy before age 50.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36677,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36675"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36678,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36675\/revisions\/36678"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}