Overview
- Researchers surveyed more than 3,000 UK adults who rated over 400 familiar foods for liking and likelihood of eating in excess.
- A combined model predicted 78% of overeating probability by using nutritional data (41%) and beliefs about taste and sensory qualities (38%).
- After accounting for nutrition and perceptions, Nova’s ultraprocessed classification explained under 2% of variation in liking and about 4% in overeating.
- Perceiving foods as sweet, fatty or highly processed increased the chance of overeating, whereas foods seen as bitter or high in fiber were linked to restraint.
- Authors caution that blanket policies based on processing labels may misfire and recommend nutrition education, intentional reformulation and strategies that address why people eat.