[Photo/IC]

 None of the participants had diabetes, cardiovascular disease or cancer at the beginning of the study.

"The trend for eating commercially prepared meals in restaurants or as take-out in the United States has increased significantly over the last 50 years," study author Geng Zong, a research fellow at Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in a statement.

At the same time, he said, the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes has also increased.