Tin J, Lee H, Trejo AG, Tin K. Ultra-processed food, obesity, and colon cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2025; 17(2): 101211 [PMID: PMC11755993 DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i2.101211]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Justin Tin, Researcher, Department of Gastroenterology, Newtown Gastroenterology, 87-10 51st Ave Suite 1R, Elmhurst, NY 11373, United States. justintinzz@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Systematic Reviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Feb 15, 2025; 17(2): 101211 Published online Feb 15, 2025. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i2.101211
Ultra-processed food, obesity, and colon cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Justin Tin, Henry Lee, Alfonso Gonzalez Trejo, Kevin Tin
Justin Tin, Kevin Tin, Department of Gastroenterology, Newtown Gastroenterology, Elmhurst, NY 11373, United States
Justin Tin, New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY 11568, United States
Henry Lee, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15289, United States
Alfonso Gonzalez Trejo, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico 04510, Ciudad de México, Mexico
Author contributions: Tin J and Tin K contributed to conceptualization, writing—reviewing and editing; Tin J, Lee H and Trejo AG contributed to data curation, writing—original draft preparation; Lee H contributed to visualization; Trejo AG and Tin K contributed to methodology; Tin K contributed to data curation, formal analysis, supervision, project administration.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Justin Tin, Researcher, Department of Gastroenterology, Newtown Gastroenterology, 87-10 51st Ave Suite 1R, Elmhurst, NY 11373, United States. justintinzz@gmail.com
Received: September 7, 2024 Revised: November 6, 2024 Accepted: December 9, 2024 Published online: February 15, 2025 Processing time: 132 Days and 19.2 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Recently, there has been a significant increase in the consumption of ultra-processed foods worldwide. However, the association between the consumption of ultra-processed food, obesity, and the prevalence of colon cancer remains controversial.
AIM
To find out the association between the consumption of ultra-processed food, obesity, and the prevalence of colon cancer.
METHODS
A comprehensive systematic literature search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for grey literature was done for articles published before 8th March 2023. The search was done to retrieve potential peer-reviewed articles that explored the association between the consumption of ultra-processed food, obesity, and the prevalence of colon cancer.
RESULTS
Of the 246 potential articles assessed, 17 met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis results demonstrated that high consumption of ultra-processed food is associated with an increased risk of obesity [odds ratio (OR): 1.65; 95%CI: 1.07-2.45; P < 0.05]. Consequently, there is a positive association between obesity and an increased risk of colon cancer (OR 1.48; 95%CI: 0.77-2.87; P > 0.05).
CONCLUSION
Consuming ultra-processed foods increases the risk of obesity and colon cancer.
Core Tip: High consumption of ultra-processed foods is significantly associated with an increased risk of obesity and colon cancer. Our systematic review and meta-analysis, which included 17 peer-reviewed studies, found that individuals with a high intake of ultra-processed foods had a 65% higher likelihood of developing obesity. Reducing the intake of these foods and promoting a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are essential strategies to mitigate obesity and cancer risk. Public health initiatives may further support these efforts.
