Ultraprocessed foods lead to overeating
America’s obesity epidemic is being fueled by ultraprocessed foods loaded with synthetic flavors, preservatives, and added sugars and salt, a small but rigorous new study has found. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health recruited 20 adult volunteers—10 men and 10 women—to spend a month at a research facility. The participants were split into two groups: one ate a diet of ultraprocessed foods such as sugary cereals, white bread, and reconstituted meats, while the other group ate minimally processed foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables, grilled chicken, and whole grains. All meals contained similar amounts of calories, sugars, fat, and carbohydrates—but the subjects were told they could eat as much as they liked. After two weeks, the groups swapped meal plans. On the ultraprocessed diet, participants ate faster and consumed an extra 500 calories a day—equivalent to two and a half Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts— and gained an average of 2 pounds. On the unprocessed diet, which was 40 percent more expensive than the ultraprocessed one, subjects lost an average of 2 pounds and experienced increased levels of an appetite-suppressing hormone. Barry Popkin, a nutrition expert at the University of North Carolina who wasn’t involved in the study, tells NPR.org that the challenge for the global food industry is to “produce ultraprocessed food that’s healthy and that won’t be so seductive and won’t make us eat so much extra. But they haven’t yet.”