“The 360” shows you diverse perspectives on the major stories and debates of the day.
What is happening
For decades, the question of whether or not a food is healthy has largely centered on what’s in it: does it contain lots of fiber and vitamins? Is there excess fat, salt or sugar?
But more recently, many experts have begun to believe that how our foods are made may be just as important as what they are made of. With this new way of looking at food health, a new villain has emerged: .
Although there is no universal definition, ultra-processed foods are foods that have been heavily modified and frequently contain additives such as preservatives, artificial flavors and sweeteners. The term was first popularized by a scientist in 2009 who argued that nutrition systems that only look at the composition of a food, like the food pyramid, ignore critical differences in how various foods end up on our plates.
Because so much of what we eat has been altered in some way, a huge range of foods can be . Most “junk food” (like candy and crisps) comfortably falls into the category, but so do many items that may not be considered obviously unhealthy for the average consumer, including flavored yogurts, plant-based milks and most breads found in the supermarket. One study estimated that it almost comes from ultra-processed foods.
Why there is debate
A growing body of research shows that diets high in ultra-processed foods are linked to a wide range of health problems, including various types of , , and even . The challenge, however, is to determine whether these problems can be attributed directly to the way the food is produced or whether they can be the result of other factors.
A number of people say there is enough evidence to suggest that ultra-processed foods are more unhealthy, even when compared to foods with the exact same nutritional makeup. They argue that these products were specifically designed to trigger responses in our brains that promote overeating and frequently contain a slew of artificial ingredients with effects on the body that we don’t yet fully understand.
But critics of the approach say these studies only confirm what we’ve known for decades: that diets high in fat, sugar and salt — of which ultra-processed foods tend to be high — are unhealthy. There are also concerns that too much talk about the dangers of ultra-processed foods is leading people to avoid generally healthy foods that fall into this category, such as meat alternatives, various types of bread, and even infant formula.
Another source of debate is what to do with ultra-processed foods if they are deemed unsafe. Many experts say a big reason they’re so ubiquitous is that they’re cheaper and more convenient than whole foods. They argue that it will take massive changes to our food system to ensure that everyone, not just people with lots of time and money, can eliminate these unhealthy products from their diets.
And after
At this time, the official US government dietary guidelines do not take a position on ultra-processed foods. But experts are debating whether the issue should be included in the next set of updated recommendations, due out in 2025.
Perspectives
Ultra-processed foods literally kill people
“Four of the six leading causes of death are related to inadequate diet, which in the United States is likely due in large part to convenient, safe, and inexpensive foods that we overeat.” — Christopher Gardner, director of nutritional studies at Stanford University, for
What matters is what’s in a food, not how it’s made
“If the problem with ultra-processed foods turns out to be their sugar and salt content, for example, then the problem would be with the sugar and the salt, not with the fact that we bought a burger at a fast food restaurant…or made our own burger at home.” —Beth Skwarecki,
Many Ultra-Processed Foods Are Actually Not Foods At All
“I felt pretty confident that junk food was bad. That didn’t stop me from eating it though. Learning about UPF is a different experience – you start to realize that some of this stuff is barely food. — Hélène Lewis,
Lots of healthy items are grouped with junk food into such broad categories
“Even after more than a decade, there is no single agreed definition. … This ambiguity has consequences: consumers are wary of all processed foods and are beginning to avoid frozen and canned foods, despite them being an affordable and healthy alternative to fresh produce. — Günter Kuhnle,
All we really know for sure is that obviously unhealthy foods should be avoided.
“It’s a science-based decision to completely avoid sugary drinks and obvious junk food. It’s also probably not great if most of your diet is ultra-processed, even if you select relatively healthy versions of these foods. Beyond that, the data is fuzzy. — Tim Requarth,
Governments must step in to stop ultra-processed foods
“We now need to consider using a variety of strategies to decrease consumption. This includes the adoption of new laws and regulations. …Simply telling individuals to “be more responsible” is unlikely to work, when Big Food spends billions every year marketing unhealthy products to undermine that responsibility. — Phillip Baker, Mark Lawrence and Priscila Machado, the
Saying about ultra-processed foods does nothing to understand why people eat so many of them
“My interest in whether or not someone is eating ultra-processed foods is pretty minimal. I don’t care if people want to eat it, it’s fine. What matters to me is that they live in a world where they have the freedom to eat whatever they want. I think real food should be cheap and available to everyone. — Chris van Tulleken, author of “Ultra-Processed People,” for
We Can’t Beat World Hunger Without Ultra-Processed Foods
“I’m all for a predominantly whole-food diet. But used in the right way and in moderation, processed foods could be a boon to global nutrition. The stigma against them hinders such efforts, so rather than avoiding food processing, we should embrace it in appropriate contexts. —Hannah Ritchie
Photo illustration by Quinn Lemmers/Yahoo News; Photos: Getty Images.