A: Even when you’re hungry, don’t reach for those instant noodles, crisps, energy bars or frozen pizzas.

B: Why?

A: Those things you’d pick up in a pinch at the corner shop have been associated with higher overall cancer risk. French researchers now call them ultra-processed foods.

Note: Some French researchers adopted “ultra-processed” from NOVA system of food classification, which categorizes food based on their extent of processing. The greatest extent is Group 4, ultra-processed food and drink. These are “industrial formulations typically with five or more and unusually many ingredients” that are found in processed foods, such as sugar, oil, fats, salt, anti-oxidants, stabilizers and preservatives.