Governments must 'step up' against UPFs

Diets high in UPFs are linked to overeating, poor nutrition and higher exposure to harmful chemicals and additives, leading to a greater risk of chronic disease

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are displacing fresh and minimally processed foods and meals, worsening diet quality, and are associated with an increased risk of multiple chronic diseases, say international experts in a global review of research.

The researchers say governments need to introduce warnings and impose higher taxes on UPF products, to help fund access to more nutritious foods. 

The new three paper Series published in The Lancet, co-authored by Dr Paulo Serodio at the University of Essex’s Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) argues that, although additional studies on the impact of UPFs on human health will be valuable, immediate action is needed.

The international research team found that improving diets cannot rely on consumer behaviour change alone — it requires coordinated policies to reduce UPF production, marketing, and consumption, alongside tackling high fat, sugar and salt and improving access to healthy food.

Dr Serodio said, “What people eat is shaped far more by the commercial interests that govern our food systems than by individual willpower. This Lancet series makes clear that tackling the harms from ultra-processed foods will require not just new product rules, but also stronger safeguards against corporate influence in science and health policy.” 

The Series cites UPF companies’ political playbook as the largest barrier to implementing effective policies to reduce UPFs in people’s diets, and exposes the tactics UPF companies use to drive consumption and prevent effective policy. It also outlines a roadmap for change towards government regulation, community mobilisation, and accessible and affordable healthier diets.

Professor Camila Corvalan, University of Chile, Chile, said, “Addressing this challenge requires governments to step up and introduce bold, coordinated policy action – from including markers of UPFs in front-of-package labels to restricting marketing and implementing taxes on these products to fund greater access to affordable, nutritious foods.”

Evidence reviewed in the Series shows that diets high in UPFs are linked to overeating, poor nutritional quality (too much sugar and unhealthy fats, and too little fibre and protein) and higher exposure to harmful chemicals and additives.

Additionally, a systematic review conducted for the Series, encompassing 104 long-term studies, found 92 reported greater associated risks of one or more chronic diseases, with meta-analyses showing significant associations for 12 health conditions, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, and early death from all causes.

“The growing body of research suggests diets high in ultra-processed foods are harming health globally and justifies the need for policy action.”

Professor Mathilde Touvier, French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm), France, said, “While healthy debate about UPFs within the scientific community is welcomed, this should be distinguished from attempts by vested interests to undermine the current evidence. The growing body of research suggests diets high in ultra-processed foods are harming health globally and justifies the need for policy action.”

The authors are calling for a coordinated global public health response to protect policymaking from industry interference, end industry ties with health professionals and organisations, and build a global UPFs action advocacy network.

Professor Karen Hoffman, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, added, “Just as we confronted the tobacco industry decades ago, we need a bold, coordinated global response now to curb the overproportionate power of UPF corporations and build food systems that prioritise people’s health and wellbeing.”

In December, the San Francisco city attorney’s office filed a pioneering lawsuit against 10 major food corporations over claims they have spent decades formulating UPFs that are unhealthy as well as addictive.