Whether they know it or not, most Americans don’t go a day — or often a single meal — without eating ultra-processed foods.
From sugary cereal for breakfast to frozen pizza for dinner, plus snacks between chips, soda and ice cream, ultra-processed foods make up about 60% of the American diet. For children and teenagers, it’s even higher—about two-thirds of what they eat.
This is concerning because ultra-processed foods have been linked to a host of negative health effects, from obesity and diabetes to heart disease, depression, dementia and more. A recent study suggested that eating these foods may increase the risk of early death.
However, the science of nutrition is complicated, and most research to date has found associations, not evidence, regarding the health consequences of these foods.
Food manufacturers argue that processing increases food safety and supplies and provides an inexpensive and convenient way to provide a varied and nutritious diet.
Even if the science were clear, it’s hard to know what practical advice to give when ultra-processed foods make up what one study estimates is 73% of the US food supply.
The Associated Press asked several nutrition experts, and here’s what they had to say:
What are ultra-processed foods?
Most foods are processed, whether by freezing, grinding, fermentation, pasteurization, or other means. In 2009, Brazilian epidemiologist Carlos Monteiro and colleagues first proposed a system that classifies foods by the amount of processing they undergo, not by their nutrient content.
At the top of the four-tier scale are foods created through industrial processes and with ingredients such as additives, colors and preservatives that you can’t replicate in a home kitchen, said Kevin Hall, a researcher who focuses on metabolism and diet. in. National Institutes of Health.
“These are most, but not all, of the packaged foods you see,” Hall said.
Such foods are often made to be cheap and irresistibly delicious, said Dr. Neena Prasad, director of Bloomberg Philanthropy’s Food Policy Program.
“They have the right combination of sugar, salt and fat, and you just can’t stop eating them,” Prasad said.
However, the level of processing alone does not determine whether a food is unhealthy or not, Hall noted. Whole grain breads, yogurt, tofu, and baby formula are all highly processed, for example, but they’re also nutritious.
Are ultra-processed foods harmful?
Here is the tricky part. Many studies suggest that diets rich in such foods are associated with negative health outcomes. But these types of studies can’t say whether the foods are the cause of the adverse effects — or whether there’s something else about the people who eat these foods that might be responsible.
At the same time, ultra-processed foods, as a group, tend to have higher amounts of sodium, saturated fat, and sugar, and tend to be lower in fiber and protein. It is not clear whether it is these nutrients alone that are driving the effects.
Hall and his colleagues were the first to conduct a small but influential experiment that directly compared the results of eating similar diets made of ultra-processed and unprocessed foods.
Published in 2019, the research involved 20 adults who went to live at an NIH center for a month. They received diets of ultra-processed and unprocessed foods matched for calories, sugar, fat, fiber and macronutrients for two weeks each and were told to eat as much as they wanted.
When participants ate the ultra-processed diet, they consumed about 500 more calories a day than when they ate unprocessed foods, the researchers found — and they gained an average of about 2 pounds (1 kilogram) during the study period. When they ate only raw foods for the same amount of time, they lost about 2 pounds (1 kilogram).
Hall is conducting a more detailed study now, but the process is slow and expensive, and results are not expected until late next year. He and others argue that such definitive research is needed to determine exactly how ultra-processed foods affect consumption.
“It is better to understand the mechanisms by which they bring about the harmful health consequences, if they are driving them,” he said.
Should ultra-processed foods be regulated?
Some advocates, like Prasad, argue that the large body of research linking ultra-processed foods to poor health should be more than enough to prompt government and industry to change policies. It calls for actions such as increasing taxes on sugary drinks, stricter sodium limits for manufacturers and cracking down on the marketing of such foods to children, in the same way that tobacco marketing is restricted.
“Do we want to risk our children getting sicker while we wait for these perfect tests to come out?” Prasad said. Earlier this year, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf spoke on the subject, telling a conference of food policy experts that ultra-processed foods are “one of the most complex things I’ve ever dealt with.”
But, he concluded, “We have to have the scientific basis and then we have to follow it.”
How should consumers manage ultra-processed foods at home?
In countries like the U.S., it’s hard to avoid highly processed foods — and it’s not clear which ones to target, said Aviva Musicus, science director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which advocates for food policy.
“The range of ultra-processed foods is so wide,” she said.
Instead, it’s better to be aware of the ingredients in foods. Check labels and make choices that match the current U.S. Dietary Guidelines, she suggested.
“We have really good evidence that added sugar is not good for us. “We have evidence that high sodium foods are not good for us,” she said. “We have overwhelming evidence that minimally processed fruits and vegetables are really good for us.”
It’s important not to curse certain foods, she added. Many consumers do not have the time or money to cook most meals from scratch.
“I think meals should be joyful and delicious and should not involve moral judgment,” Musicus said.
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