Ultra-processed foods increase risk of diabetes, obesity, depression; Lancet series urges policy action

Ultra‑processed foods (UPFs) are linked to harm in every major organ system in the human body and raise the risk for 12 diseases, including Type‑2 diabetes, obesity, depression, and heart, kidney and gastrointestinal conditions, a three‑part series in The Lancet has revealed. The series also calls for greater industry regulation and increased public awareness.

Describing the high consumption of UPFs as a “seismic threat” to global health, the 102‑year‑old medical journal notes that UPFs are rapidly displacing fresh food in the diets of children and adults on every continent, replacing fresh and traditional home‑cooked meals. The driving force behind this shift, it says, is corporate profit.

“This rise in ultra-processed foods is driven by powerful global corporations who employ sophisticated political tactics to protect and maximise profits. Education and relying on behaviour change by individuals is insufficient,” The Lancet states. UPFs now make up about 50 per cent of household food intake, and consumption is rising quickly in low‑ and middle‑income countries.

“Deteriorating diets are an urgent public health threat that requires coordinated policies and advocacy to regulate and reduce ultra-processed foods and improve access to fresh and minimally processed foods,” The Lancet cautions.

Adults and children alike across the world are increasingly consuming UPF such as ready-to-eat meals, cereals, protein and energy bars, fizzy drinks and fast food, which is associated with many non-communicable diseases.

The series is titled ‘Ultra-processed foods and human health: The main thesis and the evidence’, ‘Policies to halt and reverse the rise in ultra-processed food production, marketing, and consumption,’ and ‘Towards unified global action on ultra-processed foods: Understanding commercial determinants, countering corporate power, and mobilising a public health response’.

“The rise of UPFs in human diets is damaging public health, fuelling chronic diseases worldwide, and deepening health inequalities. Addressing this challenge requires a unified global response that confronts corporate power and transforms food systems to promote healthier, more sustainable diets,” according to the series.

Pointing out that UPFs are the most processed group of foods, The Lancet states that these are identified by the presence of sensory-related additives that enhance the texture, flavour, or appearance of foods. At the core of the UPF industry is the large-scale processing of cheap commodities, such as maize, wheat, soy and palm oil, into a wide array of food-derived substances and additives, controlled by a small number of transnational corporations.

Remarking that the UPF industry is emblematic of a food system that is increasingly controlled by transnational corporations that prioritise corporate profit ahead of public health, the series point out that the UPF industry generates enormous revenues that support continued growth and fund corporate political activities to counter attempts at UPF regulation.

“A comprehensive, government-led approach is needed to reverse the rise in UPF consumption. Priority actions include adding ultra-processed markers, such as colours, flavours, and non-sugar sweeteners, to nutrient profiling models used to identify unhealthy foods, mandatory front-of-pack warning labels, bans on marketing aimed at children; restrictions on these types of foods in public institutions; and higher taxes on UPFs,” The Lancet states.

“The market dominance and political power of the UPF industry must also be addressed by stronger competition policy, replacing self-regulation with mandatory regulation, and combating corporate interference,” the journal suggests.