A new study has found that a diet rich in processed foods can affect the ability to maintain focus.

New research from Monash University, the University of São Paulo and Deakin University has found that eating large amounts of processed foods affects the brain’s ability to focus and increases the risk of dementia.

The study, published in the Alzheimer’s Association journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia: Diagnosis, looked at the diet and mental health of more than 2,100 Australians (who were free of dementia and middle-aged or older).

The results showed that even a small amount of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) consumed daily was associated with significant declines in attention, even when the person was eating a seemingly healthy diet.

Lead researcher Barbara Cardoso (from Monash University’s Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food and the Victorian Heart Institute) said the study showed a strong link between industrially processed foods and cognitive decline.