Ultra-processed foods are a key driver of chronic disease worldwide and governments need to act now, according to new research published by an international team of health researchers.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Walk into any grocery store and you'll see shelves filled with ultra-processed foods. You know, sugary sodas, salty snacks, packaged meals. They are really hard to avoid. Well, now an international team of researchers says governments need to act urgently. They say there is clear evidence that these foods are a cause of chronic disease throughout the world. And NPR's Maria Godoy has more. Hello.
MARIA GODOY, BYLINE: Hi, Juana.
SUMMERS: Maria, what's new in this study?
GODOY: Well, it brings together a huge amount of data. There are three papers, they're published in The Lancet, and they look at years of data, over a hundred studies, that link ultra-processed foods to poor health outcomes, including an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, chronic kidney and heart disease, even depression. Dozens of scientists have reviewed the research and say there is now enough evidence that ultra-processed foods are a serious problem. Here's one of the authors of the paper, Barry Popkin from the University of North Carolina.
BARRY POPKIN: What we can say now is that truly ultra-processed food poses a clear global threat to our health – not just our physical health, but also our mental health in terms of its impact on depression.
GODOY: Popkin and his co-authors called on governments to do something to reduce the amount of ultra-processed foods in the food supply.
SUMMERS: What policies are they calling for?
GODOY: Yes, they say it's time to use a playbook similar to the one used against big tobacco companies, such as taxes on soda, warning labels on packaged foods, banning the sale of these products to children and removing ultra-processed products from large institutions like schools and hospitals. Another author of the study is Marion Nestle, a nutrition researcher at New York University. She says countries like Chile have adopted some of these measures and they are working. She says some have been offered in the US without success.
MARION NESTLE: They will never achieve anything because the industry resists. It's time to get involved in the industry. They must stop.
SUMMERS: Maria, do we expect the Trump administration to take this on?
GODOY: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said ultra-processed foods are, quote, “poisoning Americans” and he takes credit for getting the industry to voluntarily remove some food coloring from its products. But again, this is voluntary. Federal dietary guidelines are expected to be released soon, and many expect them to address ultra-processed foods for the first time. These rules affect what is served at school lunches, but are not regulations. And some nutrition experts, such as Dr. David Ludwig of Harvard, point out that many foods are considered ultra-processed, and not all of them are unhealthy. Thus, some yogurts, packaged whole grain breads, and jarred pasta sauces are in the same category of ultra-processed foods as a big bag of potato chips.
DAVID LUDWIG: By focusing on such an imprecise target as ultra-processed foods, there is a risk of demonizing perfectly healthy foods, lending a halo of health to obviously unhealthy foods, and opening the door to industry manipulation.
GODOY: In a statement to NPR, the International Food and Beverage Alliance said that overly broad ultra-processed food policies would, quote, “reduce the availability of safe, affordable and shelf-stable options around the world.”
SUMMERS: Interesting. Do they make sense?
GODOY: The U.S. diet is dominated by ultra-processed foods. One reason is that they are cheap and convenient. Research shows that they make up more than 70% of what you find in grocery stores. So if you're going to limit them, the authors say, you also need public policies that make minimally processed or whole foods like fruits, vegetables and lean meats more accessible and affordable, especially for low-income people.
SUMMERS: NPR's Maria Godoy, thank you.
GODOY: My pleasure.
(SOUNDBITE OF BADBADNOTGOOD AND GHOSTFACE KILLAH'S SONG, “FOOD”)
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