Overview
- An 18-week controlled feeding trial from South Dakota State University found older adults cut about 400 daily calories and lost body and abdominal fat when ultra-processed foods were reduced to roughly 15% of intake, with a 23% gain in insulin sensitivity and improved inflammation markers.
- Follow-up from the same study indicated many metabolic benefits waned as ultra-processed food intake climbed again over a year, underscoring the need for sustained dietary change.
- A randomized trial led by Virginia Tech reported that after two weeks on a high ultra-processed diet, participants aged 18 to 21 ate more at buffet meals and snacked when not hungry, despite diets being tightly matched for nutrients.
- The Lancet’s three-paper series concludes ultra-processed foods pose a global public-health threat, drawing on more than 100 studies linking high intake to obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, depression and higher mortality, with intake exceeding half of calories in the U.S. and U.K.
- In India, co-author Dr. Arun Gupta urged mandatory front-of-pack warning labels, restrictions on advertising and safeguards against industry influence, citing ultra-processed food sales rising from $0.9 billion in 2006 to nearly $38 billion in 2019 and aggressive marketing that targets children.