A small but rigorous new study found that eating ultra-processed foods caused otherwise healthy men to quickly gain body fat and led to reductions in their sex hormones. The men also seemed to have accumulated higher levels of a chemical found in plastics and food packaging.

Many previous studies have found that ultra-processed foods are linked to higher rates of obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and other chronic health conditions. But the new study, published on Thursday in Cell Metabolism, is striking because it suggests that ultra-processed foods can have detrimental effects not only on metabolic health but on reproductive health as well.

The findings add to what is becoming overwhelming evidence that diets based on ultra-processed foods are not good for us, said Marion Nestle, an emeritus professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, who was not involved in the new study. “But the big shocker here is the potential effect on male fertility,” she added.

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