Processed meat is generally considered unhealthy.

It has been linked with diseases like cancer and heart disease in numerous studies.

There is no doubt that processed meat contains many harmful chemicals that are not present in fresh meat.

This is a fact that health-conscious people have been aware of for decades.

For this reason, eating high amounts of processed meat is more common among people with unhealthy lifestyle habits.

As an example, smoking is more common among those who eat lots of processed meat. Their intake of fruit and vegetables is also much lower.

It is possible that the links found between processed meat and disease are partly because people who eat processed meat tend to do other things that are not associated with good health.

Most observational studies on processed meat and health outcomes try to correct for these factors.

Nevertheless, studies consistently find strong links between processed meat consumption and various chronic diseases

People who are not health-conscious tend to eat more processed meat. This may partly explain some of the associations found in studies investigating processed meat consumption and disease.