Overview
- The international consortium of 43 experts reports that ultraprocessed foods are increasingly displacing traditional diets worldwide, with The Lancet publishing the findings.
- Authors urge mandatory front-of-package warnings, bans on marketing to children, removal from schools and hospitals, and higher taxes to fund access to fresh foods.
- WHO and UNICEF publicly endorse the recommendations and contribute articles supporting measures to improve availability of minimally processed options.
- Data show sharp national shifts, including Spain’s rise from 11% to 32% of daily calories from ultraprocessed foods, with increases also reported in China and Brazil and levels above 50% in the United States and United Kingdom.
- The series details industry tactics likened to the tobacco playbook, including aggressive marketing, lobbying, and efforts to sow doubt, with experts stressing that change cannot rest on individual choice alone.