Eating ultraprocessed foods could degrade muscle health, experts warn

NewsHealthEating ultraprocessed foods could degrade muscle health, experts warnReduced muscle health leaves people vulnerable to chronic degenerative joint diseaseJulia Musto in New York Tuesday 21 April 2026 23:25 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2962184","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/ultraprocessed-foods-muscle-health-fat-b2962184.html","title":"Eating ultraprocessed foods could degrade muscle health, experts warn"}}CloseStudy Finds Link Between Ultraprocessed Foods and DepressionSign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in healthGet our free Health Check emailGet our free Health Check emailEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_Health_Newsletter","regTitle":"Health Check","subscriptionGroup":"health","subscriptionGroupId":"a476a40b-80d6-475e-83ee-36e2c8c6dcb9","type":"health","pathPrefix":["/news/health","/news/science"],"associatedAuthors":["Rebecca Thomas"],"title":"Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health","mobileTitle":"Get our free Health Check email","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/healthCheck1_1.png","description":"Behind the headline review on the week in health","label":"I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by email","newsletterKey":"receiveIndyHealthNews","regSourceSection":"Health","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"},"isClimate":false}Eating a diet dominated by ultraprocessed foods like cookies and fries has long been tied to harms for many areas of human h...