Regular scoffers of fatty junk food and drinks increase risk of developing cancer by a quarter, scientists claim

SCOFFING junk food regularly could raise the risk of developing cancer by nearly a quarter, a study suggests.

It said ultra-processed foods with high levels of sugar, fat and salt were linked to the disease.

The biggest consumers were 23 per cent more likely to get any type of cancer than healthy eaters. Poor diet raised women’s chances of breast cancer by up to 38 per cent.

Cancer Research UK’s Professor Linda Bauld said: “People shouldn’t worry about a bit of processed food here and there.

“But having more fizzy drinks, crisps and biscuits could increase your overall risk of cancer."

Previous research has linked excess junk food with obesity — a known cause of cancer. But scientists say this is the first study to monitor how diet affects cancer rates.

In the study, published in the BMJ, a team of researchers from Paris monitored the eating habits of 100,000 adults in their 40s for an average of five years.

Foods high in sugar and fat but lacking vitamins and fibre were blamed for fuelling the risk. Chemicals added to processed foods also play a role. The researchers suggested eating more raw fruit and veg.

Junk food and unhealthy snacks now make up half the items eaten in the average home.

But Prof Tom Sanders, a nutrition expert at King’s College London, said there was no proof junk food causes cancer.

He said those with poor diets often have other bad habits such as smoking and not exercising.

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