UPFs are made to encourage addiction and consumption and should be regulated like tobacco, say researchers

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have more in common with cigarettes than with fruit or vegetables, and require far tighter regulation, according to a new report.

UPFs and cigarettes are engineered to encourage addiction and consumption, researchers from three US universities said, pointing to the parallels in widespread health harms that link both.

UPFs, which are widely available worldwide, are food products that have been industrially manufactured, often using emulsifiers or artificial colouring and flavours. The category includes soft drinks and packaged snacks such as crisps and biscuits.

There are similarities in the production processes of UPFs and cigarettes, and in manufacturers’ efforts to optimise the “doses” of products and how quickly they act on reward pathways in the body, according to the paper from researchers at Harvard, the University of Michigan and Duke University.

One of the authors, Prof Ashley Gearhardt of the University of Michigan, a clinical psychologist specialising in addiction, said her patients made the same links: “They would say, ‘I feel addicted to this stuff, I crave it – I used to smoke cigarettes [and] now I have the same habit but it’s with soda and doughnuts. I know it’s killing me; I want to quit, but I can’t.’”

  • moakley@lemmy.worldEnglish
    13·
    14 hours ago

    When Cheerios says it’s heart healthy, it’s because it has some kind of fiber that helps lower cholesterol. That’s according to scientific studies and the pre-Trump FDA.

    Almost all of the foods marketed towards infants and toddlers are UPF.

    Except it’s actually not a problem, because UPF does not mean unhealthy.

    As it happens the product you’re seeing babies eat isn’t generally Cheerios, it’s something made of rice that dissolves faster to prevent choking.

    Yeah, no, it’s definitely Cheerios.

    I’ve got three kids. We gave them actual Cheerios. Every parent I know used actual Cheerios. Their daycare has Cheerios on hand for when a kid needs an extra snack. They’re healthy, easy to chew, and have a hole in the middle. They are not a choking hazard.

    There are other cereal products specifically made for infants to snack on, but Cheerios are cheaper, more available, and just as good.

    For my first two kids we did baby-led weaning (the third one is only five days old), so I know all about teaching children how to chew. And for what it’s worth, my kids eat healthy as fuck. They eat more than a serving of plain vegetables with every dinner, and they enjoy it. Which is why it’s not a big deal if I want to treat them to a donut for breakfast every once in a while.