cover of episode How Ultraprocessed Foods Took Over America

How Ultraprocessed Foods Took Over America

2024/12/13
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Alice Callahan
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Sabrina Tavernisi
Topics
Sabrina Tavernisi:本期节目讨论了超加工食品在美国的泛滥及其对公众健康的潜在影响。越来越多的证据表明,超加工食品与肥胖症、2型糖尿病、心血管疾病等慢性疾病的发生率上升有关。节目探讨了超加工食品泛滥的原因,包括其便利性、价格低廉以及食品工业的营销策略等。同时,节目也讨论了如何减少超加工食品的摄入,以及政府和社会应该如何应对这一问题。 Alice Callahan:超加工食品是指在工业上生产的、无法在家中制作的食品,其成分表很长,包含许多不为人知的成分。超加工食品的泛滥与烟草公司收购食品公司有关,这些公司生产的食品更可能具有高美味性,即富含高脂肪高盐、高碳水化合物高盐或高脂肪高糖等组合,让人难以停止食用。研究表明,食用超加工食品会导致体重增加和卡路里摄入增加。虽然目前还不完全清楚其原因,但这可能与高美味性食品对大脑的奖励机制以及超加工食品的高卡路里密度有关。此外,超加工食品中含有一些我们不了解其对人体影响的成分。为了应对这一问题,一些国家正在采取措施,例如在超加工食品上贴上警告标签,限制向儿童推销超加工食品等。但要彻底解决这个问题,还需要更多的研究和更全面的政策干预。

Deep Dive

Key Insights

What are ultra-processed foods?

Ultra-processed foods are industrially produced products that include ingredients not typically used in home cooking, often with long lists of unrecognizable ingredients and machinery-dependent production methods.

How much of the U.S. food supply is ultra-processed?

About 70% of the U.S. food supply is classified as ultra-processed.

Why have ultra-processed foods proliferated in the U.S.?

They are convenient, shelf-stable, inexpensive, and allow for quick meal preparation, making them appealing to consumers. Additionally, tobacco companies, which owned food brands in the 1980s and 1990s, pioneered hyperpalatable foods, which are highly addictive.

What is hyperpalatable food?

Hyperpalatable foods are high in at least two nutrients, such as high fat and high salt, or high carbohydrate and high sugar, making them highly addictive and harder to stop eating.

What did the study by Kevin Hall reveal about ultra-processed foods?

Participants in the study gained two pounds in two weeks while on an ultra-processed diet, consuming 500 more calories per day than on an unprocessed diet, without realizing it.

Why is it challenging to prove that ultra-processed foods cause obesity and other health problems?

Diet is complex, and other factors like sleep, exercise, stress, and access to healthcare can influence health. Clinical trials are needed to isolate the effects of ultra-processed foods, but such studies are difficult and time-consuming.

What are some potential reasons why ultra-processed foods lead to overeating?

They may be hyperpalatable, triggering addictive responses in the brain, or they may pack more calories per bite, making it easier to consume more without feeling full.

How are countries addressing the issue of ultra-processed foods?

Some countries are implementing warning labels on ultra-processed foods, limiting their marketing to children, and removing them from school meals to promote healthier eating habits.

Why has it taken so long to study the effects of ultra-processed foods?

Nutrition research has been underfunded, with much of it sponsored by food companies that have little incentive to investigate negative effects. Only about 5% of the NIH budget goes to nutrition research.

Could ultra-processed foods follow a similar trajectory to tobacco regulation?

Yes, there is growing interest among addiction scientists in studying the addictive nature of certain foods, which could lead to more regulation and changes in the food environment to combat obesity.

Chapters
The episode starts by highlighting the alarmingly high obesity rates in the US and introduces ultra-processed foods as a potential major contributor. It defines ultra-processed foods as industrially produced items that cannot be made at home, often containing numerous unrecognizable ingredients. Examples like Ring Dings, Wonder Bread, and flavored yogurt are used to illustrate how widespread these foods are in the American diet, comprising about 70% of the food supply.
  • Nearly three-quarters of American adults are obese or overweight.
  • Ultra-processed foods make up approximately 70% of the US food supply.
  • Ultra-processed foods are industrially produced and contain many hard-to-understand ingredients.
  • Even seemingly healthy options like flavored yogurt can be ultra-processed.

Shownotes Transcript

A new study has found that nearly three-quarters of American adults are now obese or overweight, and there’s growing concern — among politicians, scientists and consumers — about one potential culprit: ultraprocessed foods.

Guest: Alice Callahan), a nutrition and health reporter for The New York Times, discusses how these foods came to be such a big part of what we eat, and why that’s so hard to change. 

Background reading: 

  • There’s not enough evidence to recommend avoiding ultraprocessed foods, a scientific advisory committee says. Some experts disagree).
  • Name a common condition — heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, cancer, dementia, irritable bowel syndrome — and chances are good that a diet high in ultraprocessed foods has been linked to it).

 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily). Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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