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International research group published an analysis identifying ultra-processed food as addictive
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- Title
- International team of scientists says identifying some foods as addictive could stimulate research, shift attitudes
- Word count
- 812 words
It’ll be very interesting to see if this has any affect on what is allowed to be advertised and sold in the US. My hope is that ultra processed foods have to be a separate food category? I’m not sure how that could be implemented though
Speaking re the US, various government agencies plus congress have tools to make things happen. The labels on nicotine products and the enforcement of seatbelt and helmet laws are examples. Also states can have stricter rules than the federal government if a federal law doesn't preempt state regulation.
The first amendment in the US guards free speech but those rights are not unlimited.
Sure, there technically are tools to address these issues, but the issue is that the industries around producing these products are so huge that they basically get whatever they want. It's not like we can reasonably expect congress to legislate reasonable regulation these days.
Even if they did label it, I don't think it would be enough to make a real difference. The article notes that ultraprocessed foods already make up 58% of the calories consumed each year in the US. But those foods are made by the same companies who make the lightly processed foods as well, and those categories make up well over 3/4 of your average grocery store. How likely are you to avoid food with the ultraprocessed label if it's on practically everything on the store? Labeling is quite literally the least we can do, but if we want it to be even remotely successful we need to make them into big 'dangerous' looking one; Mexico has a program they've been doing since 2020 that's a pretty good example.
A rating system that includes how processed food is already exists though from what I've heard it's somewhat naive, since our understanding of what makes processed food bad is not great. I'm too lazy to look it up, but I think some country around here in central Europe already uses it (maybe Germans?) since I've seen it on some food recently.
edit: actually the one I've seen might have been a different system than the one linked, but regardless: a 4-level ranking of how processed a food is already exists and is being rolled out somewhere.
EWG's methodology, for the curious.
I've got to say that I'm not a big fan of it. I don't really think a "how processed" is a good way to approach health in general. But more than anything I think that this methodology is just a bit too vague in how it works. Coca Cola is a prime example of an ultraprocessed product where the primary ingredient is high fructose corn syrup, but by their scale it only shows up as "moderately processed". There's a lot of stuff they can't really account for because of the complexity of how each ingredient can affect your health and the fact that they don't have access to all of the ingredients (which can be hidden as "Flavors") or the amounts that are present in the product.
I agree with your objections, but I think that a label like that is not a terrible starting point.
I agree. I think it's important not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Maybe a can of coke slips under the radar and there will be some healthy product that somehow catches a poor rating, but in general, across the board, some labelling is better than none. And people who are exhausted and on autopilot doing their Xday-evening shopping run need a helping hand to make better (not perfect! better!) choices.
I would love to see something passed (in the US) that labels items as ultra processed. However I know a lot of people in the US would rather just ignore or celebrate that they are eating something that is labeled as such. Even for myself explaining some of the health benefits of eating less red meat usually comes with a response of "well I don't eat it THAT much." and then they continue to shovel a couple burgers in their mouth. Believe me I love burgers and junk food but its just a challenging culture here to shake.
I agree with you wholeheartedly; I used to be that person you're lampooning! After spending the greater part of this past year adapting to a whole foods plant based diet, I have discovered that eating these foods has a rather immediate effect on my health. It becomes essentially impossible for me to stop eating it until my stomach is filled, and because they are so calorie-dense, it means that I end up overeating by a very wide margin. Over the last two weeks I loosened up the reigns on my diet and ate chocolate, cookies, and restaurant food, and I gained nearly four pounds.
Ultraprocessed food is engineered to give you euphoria. It's not like a drug, it is a drug. Food is medicine, which is why it's important to make sure that what you are eating is good quality and well balanced.
Every time you turn on the TV or look on the internet, you're bound to be barraged with advertisements from the companies who make these ultraprocessed foods, telling you to consume them. So it really shouldn't be a surprise that people are doing exactly that and suffering the consequences. It's probably the driving force behind the global obesity epidemic. And the worst thing about them is that they're allowed to advertise how "healthy" they are even though they are dripping with added sugar and oil.