Experts in Italy have found those who eat UPFs such as frozen pizzas and ready meals regularly show increased signs of biological ageing.

Biological ageing is a term for how old the cells and tissues in the body appear according to how well they function and is different from chronological ageing.

The research examined the diet and biological age of more than 22,000 Italian adults and found that those who ate more UPFs were around four months older biologically than their chronological age.

While the difference is small, it adds to growing fears that high UPF consumption is linked to health problems such as obesity and cancer.

Simona Esposito, lead author of the study at Istituto Neurologico Mediterraneo Neuromed, said: "Our data shows that a high consumption of UPFs not only has a negative impact on health in general, but could also accelerate ageing itself, suggesting a connection that goes beyond the poor nutritional quality of these foods."

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