In today’s fast-paced world, convenience often wins when it comes to food choices. Supermarket shelves are filled with grab-and-go snacks, ready-made meals, and diet-branded products that claim to support health and vitality. But here’s the catch: many of these are what scientists call ultra-processed foods (UPFs)—and they are quietly undermining your health in ways that are deeper and more dangerous than most people realise.

50% of Australian adults diets are UPF’s

Australians are among the highest consumers of UPFs globally, with around 50% of daily energy intake coming from these industrially manufactured products. From “healthy” protein bars and low-fat yoghurts to packaged breads and veggie chips, UPFs have become so common that many of us no longer recognise them as processed at all. But research is sounding the alarm: these foods are strongly linked to chronic illness, pain, musculoskeletal problems, and even shortened life expectancy.

What Are Ultra-Processed Foods?

Ultra-processed foods go beyond simple food processing like freezing or canning. They are made mostly or entirely from substances not commonly used in home cooking—such as refined starches, hydrogenated oils, protein isolates, artificial sweeteners, colours, flavours, and industrial emulsifiers. They are engineered to be hyper-palatable, cheap, and addictive, while offering minimal nutritional value.

Common examples include:

• • Breakfast cereals and muesli bars with added sugars

• • Flavoured yoghurts, “diet” shakes, and plant-based meat

substitutes

• • Instant noodles, frozen meals, and commercial breads

• • Packaged snacks like crackers, chips, and “veggie” straws

Even foods marketed as health-conscious can fall into the ultra-processed category if they contain multiple additives or have undergone heavy industrial processing.

The Chronic Disease Connection

Ultra-processed foods are more than just “junk” foods—they are actively harmful to your body, and the damage goes far beyond weight gain. These foods have been directly linked with a host of chronic conditions, including:

• • Type 2 diabetes

• • Obesity

• • Cardiovascular disease

• • Certain cancers

• • Cognitive decline

• • Depression

• • Inflammatory and autoimmune conditions

One of the key drivers behind these links is chronic low-grade inflammation, which is worsened by the excessive sugar, unhealthy fats, and artificial chemicals in UPFs. Inflammation is at the root of nearly all chronic disease and plays a particularly harmful role in the musculoskeletal system.

Your Joints, Bones, and Muscles Are Under Attack

Ultra-processed foods wreak havoc on your musculoskeletal health in several ways:

a. They Drive Inflammation

Ingredients like seed oils, emulsifiers, and excess sugar increase inflammatory markers in the body. This accelerates joint degeneration and exacerbates pain in conditions like osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

a. They Promote Obesity and Metabolic Dysfunction

UPFs are calorie-dense and nutrient-poor. Diets high in these foods have been shown to lead to weight gain—even when people think they’re eating “low-fat” or “low-calorie” options. Excess body weight puts stress on joints, increasing the risk of chronic pain and mobility issues.

a. They Strip the Diet of Essential Nutrients

When UPFs dominate the plate, there’s less room for whole foods rich in calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, protein, and antioxidants—all critical for healthy bones, connective tissue, and muscle function. Without these nutrients, bones become brittle, muscles weaken, and the risk of injury increases.

a. They Harm the Gut Microbiome

Additives in UPFs—like artificial sweeteners and emulsifiers—disrupt the delicate balance of gut bacteria. A damaged microbiome affects nutrient absorption, immune response, and inflammation regulation, with knock-on effects for joint pain and overall health.

a. They Accelerate Muscle Loss (Sarcopenia)

Especially in older adults, a diet high in UPFs is associated with reduced muscle mass and strength. This contributes to frailty, falls, slower recovery from injury, and long-term disability.

What’s the Real Cost?

Perhaps the most sobering reality is that ultra-processed foods are linked with early death. Multiple large-scale studies have found that people who consume the most UPFs are at significantly greater risk of premature mortality—from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and complications of chronic illness.

But even before it reaches that point, UPFs impact quality of life. People consuming diets high in UPFs report more physical pain, more disability, less energy, and poorer mental health. They are more likely to live with persistent conditions that reduce independence, limit movement, and require long-term medications.

What Can You Do?

The good news is that you don’t need to overhaul your life overnight. Small, consistent steps can make a powerful difference.

 Swap flavoured yoghurts for plain Greek yoghurt with fresh fruit