2026-10-12T05:28:12Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/31052242 2026-09-17T16:33:29Z category_24214 category_24232 category_24235 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Data and script supporting the paper: Ultra-processed food increases mortality in the cockroach Nauphoeta cinerea Ornela De Gasperin (675332) Behavioural ecology Population ecology Terrestrial ecology Ultra-processed food processed food diet urbanization mortality Nauphoeta cinera cockroaches Ultra-processed food products make up more than half of the total calories consumed by people in some nations, and their sales keep growing. Eating these foods is correlated with human health issues, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and obesity, and also damages non-human mammalian and avian health. However, whether ultra-processed food impacts invertebrates’ health has not been studied. We addressed this shortcoming by evaluating if ultra-processed food consumption increases mortality in lobster cockroaches, Nauphoeta cinera, a species that is well adapted to urban life and is considered a pest. We experimentally fed cockroaches either an ultra-processed, unprocessed, or a mixed diet containing both processed and unprocessed food. We assessed their mortality after two months. Ultra-processed food consumption was linked to a 1.5 times higher mortality rate, in comparison to a non-processed or mixed diet. Our results add evidence to the negative impacts of these food types, even in a species that eats human-derived food and is considered ‘indestructible.’ As global urbanization increasingly shifts food landscapes for human and non-human animals alike, understanding how human-derived foods impact mortality is crucial for our understanding of animal fitness, conservation, and urban adaptation. 2026-09-17T16:33:29Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.31052242.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Data_and_script_supporting_the_paper_b_Ultra-processed_food_increases_mortality_in_the_cockroach_b_b_i_Nauphoeta_cinerea_i_b_/31052242 CC BY 4.0