A study investigating ultra-processed foods suggests their role in obesity, chronic diseases and other health issues might be more harmful than previously thought.
Dhruv Khullar reports for The New Yorker.
In short:
- Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that participants consumed significantly more calories and gained weight when eating ultra-processed foods, compared to unprocessed diets.
- Ultra-processed foods, characterized by industrial additives and chemical modifications, are linked to obesity, heart disease and even mental health conditions like depression.
- While ultra-processed foods offer convenience and affordability, they disrupt metabolism, encourage overeating and alter gut and skin microbiomes in harmful ways.
Key quote:
“This is where it starts. Hydrogenated coconut, modified food starch, degerminated yellow corn flour, yellow six, red forty, blue one. Yuck, yuck, yuck! This is what we’re feeding our kids.”
— Marion Nestle, pioneering nutritionist and public health advocate
Why this matters:
Ultra-processed foods aren’t just convenient; they’re engineered to hijack your metabolism, disrupt your hunger signal and keep you coming back for more. These industrially modified foods — full of additives, emulsifiers and sweeteners — are rewriting our gut microbiomes and might even mess with your mental health.
Missing from this article is mention of a group of endocrine-disrupting chemicals known as obesogens, which are present in ultra-processed foods (as well as everyday household and personal care products) and interfere with hormone function, causing a body to produce more fat than it normally would. Obesogens can alter metabolism, cause the body to store more calories and contribute to a variety of health problems. To find out more, check out these EHN articles:
