Ultra-processed foods, also known as UPFs, may just be one of the major health risks of our time. A new study suggests treating the food category in the same way as tobacco products in order to make consumers aware of their dangers and to possibly lessen their impact on society.
In the past, ultra-processed foods have already been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, cancers, metabolic disease, diabetes, and obesity. However, aside from the questionable nutritional values of the products, UPFs also tend to be specifically aimed at making people addicted to them and generally more sensitive to consuming them.
In a new study, researchers analysed decades worth of research into subjects such as addiction science, nutrition, and public health history in order to establish in how exactly UPFs and tobacco products can be compared to one another.
“Cigarettes and UPFs are not simply natural products but highly engineered delivery systems designed specifically to maximise biological and psychological reinforcement and habitual overuse. Both industries have used similar strategies to increase product appeal, evade regulation, and shape public perception, including adding sensory additives, accelerating reward delivery, expanding contextual access, and deploying health-washing claims. These design features collectively hijack human biology, undermine individual agency, and contribute heavily to disease and health care costs”, the researchers write in The Milbank Quarterly.
More than food
While the tobacco industry has been heavily regulated over the years and while people tend to be aware of the related health risks, the same cannot be said for ultra-processed foods, which many consume on a daily basis. Even though a good amount of UPFs are disastrous for people’s health, producers are still allowed to promote them through all kinds of marketing techniques, including statements such as ‘low fat’ that may even create the illusion of them being healthy.
“Ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) are engineered to heighten reward and accelerate delivery of reinforcing ingredients, driving compulsive consumption and disrupting appetite regulation. This is a growing challenge for health policy. UPFs share key engineering strategies adopted from the tobacco industry, such as dose optimization and hedonic manipulation. These parallels should inform how we classify and regulate UPFs. Policy tools that helped reduce tobacco-related harm, including restrictions on child-targeted marketing, taxes, improved labeling, limits on availability in schools and hospitals, and litigation, should be adapted to address the public-health threat posed by UPFs”, the scientists state.
According to the researchers, the fact that food, contrary to tobacco products, is essential for survival, underlines the need for a stricter regulation of UPFs. Just like cigarettes were once woven into the daily lives of many, ultra-processed foods have become a fixed value in our modern society. Yet just like tobacco control managed to heavily regulate and diminish cigarette consumption, a stricter UPF legislation could one day successfully reduce the negative health impact of ultra-processed foods on our society.
