PLOS Medicine · 15 October 2026 · From issue 53
Associations of food processing and dietary risk factors with colorectal cancer incidence in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study: A cohort study
Total intake of heavily processed food was not linked to colon cancer risk.
Leila Abar, Caitlin P. O’Connell et al.
Heavily processed food did not raise colon cancer risk overall in a study of 461,682 older US adults. Some processed foods, like whole grains, fiber, dairy, and calcium, lowered risk. Processed meat raised risk. These opposite effects seem to cancel out, which may explain the flat overall result.
Comparing colon cancer risk between the highest and lowest groups of heavily processed food intake.
One large US cohort, self-reported diets, no causal proof.
Integrity screen: passed (3 checks) Checked 30 October 2026. Retraction record: none. DOI resolves at doi.org. Metadata record found (PLOS Medicine). Read the source
This screen checks process signals. It does not tell you the findings are true.