Study Links Ultra-Processed Foods to Addiction, Suggests Regulation
Researchers from three universities in the United States claim to have found parallels between the addictive qualities of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and cigarettes, proposing that similar regulatory measures should be enforced for both.
The study, published recently in the Milbank Quarterly, highlights that UPFs “share key engineering strategies adopted from the tobacco industry,” designed to promote “compulsive consumption.” The findings suggest that widely consumed products like sodas, chips, and cookies are manufactured to enhance the “doses” of addictive substances, which encourages overconsumption.
According to the study, “UPFs are not just nutrients but are intentionally designed, highly engineered and manipulated, hedonically optimized products.”
Regulating UPFs Like Tobacco?
Researchers from Harvard, the University of Michigan, and Duke University argue for applying regulatory frameworks to UPFs akin to those currently used for tobacco products. Recommendations include clearer labeling, higher taxes, restrictions on sales in schools and hospitals, and limits on advertising aimed at children.
The authors emphasize that, unlike tobacco, food is essential for survival, making the urgency of regulating UPFs even greater, as “opting out of the modern food supply is difficult.”
This study’s findings come just two months following a UNICEF report published in The Lancet, which assessed UPF consumption among children across 11 countries. It revealed that 10-35% of children aged five and younger regularly consumed sweet soft drinks, while 60% of teenagers admitted to consuming at least one UPF product the previous day.
UPFs in Africa: Public Health Concerns are Rising
In developed nations, over 50% of people’s caloric intake comes from potentially harmful UPFs. Alarmingly, this trend is also affecting poorer developing countries.
Addressing the Milbank Quarterly study, Githinji Gitahi, the CEO of Amref Health Africa based in Kenya, cautioned about a “growing public health alarm” spreading across the African continent. He noted, “Corporate organizations have found a comfortable and profitable nexus: weak government regulation on harmful products and a changing pattern of consumption. This imposes new, preventable burdens on already strained healthcare systems.”
However, some experts caution against equating UPFs with tobacco too closely. Professor Martin Warren, chief scientific officer at the Quadram Institute—a UK-based food research center—questioned whether UPFs are “intrinsically addictive in a pharmacological sense” or if they mainly leverage learned preferences and convenience.
