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Ultra-processed foods tied to cancer, diabetes, dementia, depression, early death, and more · U.S. Right to Know articles

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/franki-chamaki-ivfp_yxZuYQ-unsplash-scaled.jpg"><img src="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/franki-chamaki-ivfp_yxZuYQ-unsplash-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-21462"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Research shows ultra-processed foods are linked to several serious health risks. (Photo credit: Frank Chamaki/Unsplash)</figcaption></figure>Hundreds of scientific studies provide strong evidence that ultra-processed foods are linked to health problems. The science is particularly strong linking ultra-processed foods to cancer, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, and depression.Food companies heavily market (and profit from) ultra-processed foods, and they also <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7694501/">formulate</a> these foods to be addictive – with added sugars, fat, chemical additives, and other attributes that make the foods highly palatable and easy to overeat.Over the last 20 years, Americans have continued to increase their consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs). Today, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34647997/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">more than half of our calories</a> come from UPFs. In this post, we provide an overview of ultra-processed foods – what they are, how much we eat in our daily lives, and key news coverage.We are producing a series of fact sheets on the most serious health risks associated with ultra-processed food consumption. Read more about the science behind the health concerns:  <li>Increased risk of <a href="https://usrtk.org/ultra-processed-foods/early-death/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">early death</a></li><li>Increased risk of <a href="https://usrtk.org/ultra-processed-foods/cancer/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cancer</a></li><li>Increased risk of <a href="https://usrtk.org/ultra-processed-foods/obesity-weight-gain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">obesity and weight gain</a></li><li>Increased risk of <a href="https://usrtk.org/ultra-processed-foods/diabetes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Type 2 diabetes</a></li><li>Increased risk of <a href="https://usrtk.org/ultra-processed-foods/dementia-alzheimers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dementia, Alzheimer's disease</a></li><li>Increased risk of <a href="https://usrtk.org/ultra-processed-foods/depression-anxiety/">depression and anxiety</a></li><li>Increased risk of <a href="https://usrtk.org/ultra-processed-foods/cardiovascular-disease/">cardiovascular disease</a></li><li>Some ultra-processed foods are designed to be <a href="https://usrtk.org/ultra-processed-foods/addictive/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">addictive</a></li><h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-ultra-processed-food">What is ultra-processed food?</h2><figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screen-Shot-2024-01-26-at-12.09.02-PM.png"><img src="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screen-Shot-2024-01-26-at-12.09.02-PM-1024x577.png" alt="" class="wp-image-21435" style="width:836px;height:auto"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ultra-processed foods are hyper-palatable, and often contain sweeteners, added salt, and food chemicals. (Photo credit: <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13679-021-00460-y">Current Obesity Reports</a>)</figcaption></figure>“Ultra-processed food” describes food products that have been created or altered from their natural state with added sugars or artificial sweeteners, salt, additives, preservatives, or other chemicals. Added sweeteners in particular, including high-fructose corn syrup, <a href="https://usrtk.org/sweeteners/sucralose-emerging-science-reveals-health-risks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sucralose</a>, and <a href="https://usrtk.org/sweeteners/aspartame_health_risks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">aspartame</a>, are common in ultra-processed food.They also often contain additives and preservatives, like food dyes (including Red 40, Yellow 5, and <a href="https://usrtk.org/chemicals/titanium-dioxide/">titanium dioxide</a>), sodium benzoate, sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite, brominated vegetable oil (BVO), <a href="https://usrtk.org/chemicals/potassium-bromate/">potassium bromate</a>, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/ca5644en/ca5644en.pdf">defines</a> ultra-processed foods (UPFs) as “formulations of ingredients, mostly of exclusive industrial use, typically created by a series of industrial techniques and processes (hence the term, ‘ultra-processed’).” Common ultra-processed groceries include cookies, sodas and energy drinks, fruit-flavored yogurts, margarine, packaged pastries, plant-based meats and milks, canned soups, frozen meals, sweetened breakfast cereals, granola and energy bars, hot dogs, deli meats, and potato chips.Brands like Nestlé, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Frito-Lay, Kraft Heinz, and Kellogg’s are among the world’s largest manufacturers of ultra-processed foods.Some researchers, like Brazilian nutritionist Dr. Carlos A. Monteiro, believe that UPFs are not food. Monteiro told <a href="http://v/">Healio</a> that they are instead “formulations of substances derived from foods, often chemically modified and exclusively for industrial use, containing little or no whole foods and typically enhanced with colorings, flavorings, emulsifiers and other cosmetic additives to make them palatable or hyper-palatable.”<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-nova-food-classification-system">The NOVA food classification system</h2>The NOVA food classification system is a commonly used framework around the world to categorize processed foods. Created by researchers at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil in 2009, <a href="https://archive.wphna.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/WN-2016-7-1-3-28-38-Monteiro-Cannon-Levy-et-al-NOVA.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the system considers</a> the “physical, biological and chemical processes that occur after foods are separated from nature, and before they are consumed or used in the preparation of dishes and meals.” In this framework, food is broken into four categories: 1.) Unprocessed or in its natural form; 2.) Processed with culinary ingredients; 3.) Processed foods; 4.) Ultra-processed foods. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-much-ultra-processed-food-do-americans-eat">How much ultra-processed food do Americans eat?</h2>Research shows that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8398521/">Americans are among those who eat</a> the most ultra-processed food in the world. In 2018, 57% of calories <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34647997/">that the average American ate came</a> from ultra-processed foods, up from 53.5% in 2002. According to a cross-sectional study published in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5855172/">BMJ Open</a>, non-Hispanic white and Black Americans eat the most ultra-processed food in the U.S. Hispanic adults eat less of these foods than other racial demographics. Younger people, those who are less educated and/or have a lower income tend to eat the most ultra-processed foods.American children also eat a significant amount of ultra-processed food. A <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782866?guestAccessKey=c646e502-898f-443b-8558-d90a74e35415&utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=081021" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">large study published in JAMA </a>found that, in 2018, 67% of the calories that kids eat came from ultra-processed food. This was an increase from 61.4% in 1999. “The estimated proportion of energy intake from consumption of ultra-processed foods has increased among youths in the US and has consistently comprised the majority of their total energy intake,” the study authors wrote.<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/sQq5pe5wnW2QWOqFiAzNxp4ipL3pFdyn58XVJDcu_z0KHRSdzL3cbBsy63qiiDOEtjXAA2fDS8Qo3Lj001GJiGL33lddfNbV0x-5vcqD1nHi2lPTLvnPFN9a0f2sKsM1xNaE-n_ULUjDOXZ5Vt7Gd50" alt=""/></figure>Graph Source: <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/383/bmj-2023-075294">The BMJ</a><h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-books">Books:</h2><a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324036722">Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind the Food That Isn’t Food</a>, by Chris Van Tulleken, 2023<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/246273/hooked-by-michael-moss/">Hooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions</a>, by Michael Moss, 2022<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Metabolical-processed-poisons-people-planet/dp/1529350077">Metabolical: The truth about processed food and how it poisons people and the planet</a>, by Dr. Robert Lustig, 2021<a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Dorito_Effect.html?id=Qbu2CAAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description">The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth about Food and Flavor</a>, by Mark Schatzker, 2015<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-articles">Articles:</h2><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/ultraprocessed-foods-what-they-are-and-how-to-identify-them/E6D744D714B1FF09D5BCA3E74D53A185">Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them</a>, by Dr. Carlos A. Monteiro, Public Health Nutrition, Feb, 12 2019<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/06/27/ultra-processed-foods-predigested-health-risks/">Why many ultra-processed foods are so unhealthy</a>, by Anahad O’Connor and Aaron Steckelberg, Washington Post, June 27, 2023<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/25/1190066403/what-happened-when-a-doctor-only-ate-ultra-processed-foods-for-a-month">What happened when a doctor only ate ultra-processed food for a month</a>, by Allison Aubrey, NPR, July 25, 2023<a href="https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/is-that-food-ultra-processed-how-to-tell-5bf8db05">Is That Food Ultra-Processed? How to Tell</a>, by Andrea Petersen, Wall Street Journal, Dec. 6, 2023<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/ultra-processed-foods/">Fat, Sugar, Salt … You’ve Been Thinking About Food All Wrong</a>, by Matt Reynolds, Wired, Feb. 22, 2023<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/0b9ad138-1867-439f-96a5-7986d5aa66ae">'Deny, denounce, delay': the battle over the risk of ultra-processed foods</a>, by Madeleine Speed, Ella Hollowood, and Sarah Neville, Financial Times, May 23, 2024<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/01/02/ultra-processed-foods-identification/">Look for these 9 red flags to identify food that is ultra-processed</a>, by Anahad O’Connor, Washington Post, Jan 2, 2024<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/what-are-ultra-processed-foods-and-are-they-bad-for-you/">What Are Ultraprocessed Foods, And Are They Bad For You?</a> by <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/author/tanya-lewis/">Tanya Lewis</a>, Josh Fischman, Lori Youmshajekian, Carin Leong, Elah Feder, Scientific American, Nov. 1, 2023<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/feb/13/how-ultra-processed-food-took-over-your-shopping-basket-brazil-carlos-monteiro">How ultra processed food took over your food basket</a>, by Bee Wilson, Guardian, Feb. 13, 2020  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/sep/06/ultra-processed-foods-the-19-things-everyone-needs-to-know">Ultra-processed foods: the 19 things everyone needs to know</a>, by Rachel Dixon, Guardian, Sept. 6, 2023<a href="https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/997670">Is it Time to Scrap Ultraprocessed Foods?</a> by Kelli Whitlock Burton, Medscape, Oct. 24, 2023<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/05/25/1178163270/ultra-processed-foods-health-risk-weight-gain">What we know about the health risks of ultra-processed foods</a>, by Maria Godoy, NPR, May 25, 2023We are producing a series that reports on the science behind the health risks of ultra-processed foods. Learn more about ultra-processed foods and their health risks at our other fact sheets on <a href="https://usrtk.org/ultra-processed-foods/cardiovascular-disease/">cardiovascular disease</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/ultra-processed-foods/depression-anxiety/">depression</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/ultra-processed-foods/dementia-alzheimers/">dementia</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/ultra-processed-foods/addictive/">addiction</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/ultra-processed-foods/diabetes/">Type 2 diabetes</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/ultra-processed-foods/early-death/">all-cause mortality</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/ultra-processed-foods/obesity-weight-gain/">obesity</a>, and <a href="https://usrtk.org/ultra-processed-foods/cancer/">cancer</a>. These fact sheets are works in progress and will be regularly updated.