Overview
- An international team analyzed brain scans from roughly 30,000–33,654 middle-aged UK Biobank participants, comparing imaging with dietary recalls completed years earlier.
- Higher reported intake of ultra-processed foods was associated with structural differences in regions governing appetite and motivation, including the hypothalamus and key reward areas.
- The relationships were not fully accounted for by obesity or inflammation, and researchers flagged additives such as emulsifiers as hypotheses that require testing.
- Participants reported about 2,608 kcal per day on average, with just over 46% of energy from ultra-processed items categorized using the NOVA system.
- Findings add biological context to broader epidemiology linking heavy consumption of these products to cardiometabolic risks, reinforcing calls to reduce intake and toughen manufacturing standards.