Your favorite snacks could be quietly wrecking your knees, new research suggests

You might want to drop the bacon, because it might be the reason behind your bad knees, recent research suggests.

Ultraprocessed foods have been studied extensively for their negative health effects, and now a new study has linked them to an increased risk of arthritis in the knees.

Foods in this category are designed for longer shelf life, strong flavor appeal and convenience. Common examples include breakfast cereals, bacon, hot dogs, pre-packaged snacks and sweets.

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"Over the past decades, in parallel to the rising prevalences of obesity and knee osteoarthritis, the use of natural ingredients in our diets has steadily diminished," said the study’s lead author, Zehra Akkaya, MD, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), in a press release.

Previous research into knee osteoarthritis — a degenerative "wear-and-tear" condition — has revealed that higher amounts of intramuscular fat in the thigh could increase the risk of developing the condition.

When fat gets into the muscle, it weakens the support system for the knee, leading to more joint stress and inflammation.

"It constitutes one of the largest non-cancer-related healthcare costs in the United States and around the world. It is highly linked to obesity and unhealthy lifestyle choices," said Akkaya.

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The research team set out to determine whether diet directly influences this fat buildup. Using data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative – which is a large, long-term public research project focused on the condition – they analyzed 615 individuals who did not yet have osteoarthritis.

Through non-enhanced MRI scans, they looked for degeneration marked by streaks of fat replacing healthy muscle fibers in the thigh.

The results, published in the journal Radiology, showed that the more ultraprocessed foods people consumed, the higher the amount of fat stored inside their thigh muscles.

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This was true regardless of a person’s total caloric intake, their weight or how much they exercised.

Even if someone was "thin" or active, if their diet was primarily composed of ultraprocessed foods, muscle quality and knee health could still be at risk.

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On average, the study participants consumed about 41% of their daily food from ultraprocessed sources.

Reducing ultraprocessed food consumption may help to preserve muscle quality, which in turn could alleviate the burden of knee osteoarthritis, according to the researchers.

One of the best ways to prevent obesity is to adopt a healthy, balanced diet and to exercise regularly.

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There were some limitations to the study. While it showed a clear link between ultraprocessed foods and muscle fat, it could not definitively prove that the food caused the fat buildup, only that they happened at the same time.

The findings are also based on participants reporting their own diets, which can sometimes be inaccurate compared to clinical monitoring, the researchers noted.

Additionally, the study focused on people already at high risk for knee issues, so the results might not apply as much to younger or healthier populations.