UPFs should also be heavily taxed due to impact on health and mortality, says scientist who coined term
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are displacing healthy diets “all over the world” despite growing evidence of the risks they pose and should be sold with tobacco-style warnings, according to the nutritional scientist who first coined the term.
Prof Carlos Monteiro of the University of São Paulo will highlight the increasing danger UPFs present to children and adults at the International Congress on Obesity this week.
“UPFs are increasing their share in and domination of global diets, despite the risk they represent to health in terms of increasing the risk of multiple chronic diseases,” Monteiro told the Guardian ahead of the conference in São Paulo.
I’d like to see warnings on alcohol before this
Aren’t there already? Surgeon General’s Warning: Do not drive a pregnant woman under the influence blah blah blah
I think the point would to be make them like cigarette warning labels. At the moment the text can be hidden on a bottle or can in tiny text. It needs to be a big ugly white box with a black border and large text that gets people’s attention.
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where in Europe do they do that? I live in Europe and that doesn’t sound familiar
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From the study itself:
These (UPFs) products are characterised as industrial formulations primarily composed of chemically modified substances extracted from foods, along with additives to enhance taste, texture, appearance, and durability, with minimal to no inclusion of whole foods.
What is a “whole food?”
I looked further into the paper they used to classify UPFs
A practical way to identify an ultra-processed product is to check to see if its list of ingredients contains at least one item characteristic of the NOVA ultra-processed food group, which is to say, either food substances never or rarely used in kitchens (such as high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated or interesterified oils, and hydrolysed proteins), or classes of additives designed to make the final product palatable or more appealing (such as flavours, flavour enhancers, colours, emulsifiers, emulsifying salts, sweeteners, thickeners, and anti-foaming, bulking, carbonating, foaming, gelling and glazing agents).
So I guess a “whole food” is a food that doesn’t contain High fructose corn syrup or additives. But if they are making this direct link between ultra-processed foods and increased mortality, then surely it’s these specific substances that are responsible for it? So why aren’t we banning high fructose corn syrup and these additives?
Surely it doesn’t need to be more complicated than that?
“What happens when we eat these substances?”
“we tend to die more quickly then if we didn’t eat them.”
“so let’s ban these substances.”
“OK.”
Human health and nutrition is, of course, highly complex. A substance may be generally healthy in one formulation/concentration, and tend to cause health problems in in another.
A “whole food” is not strictly defined, but is “Group 1” in the Nova food classification you mentioned.
The whole UFP thing is so wishy washy. It’s such a broad category it is essentially meaningless, one of the earlier guardian articles talked about sliced bread being a UPF as it has added vitamins and minerals due to law.
If you closer at the whole topic it just comes across as saying if you are poor and eat food that you can afford you will die earlier. Writing a reminder of this on the food will not help anyone but it will make poor people feel a bit more like shit.
The point of these kinds of efforts is to shift the blame. “It’s easy to know which foods are good and bad with this handy system, so if someone is only eating bad foods, that’s their choice, and the rest of us can blame them for their poor health.”
I’m sick of being told what I should and shouldn’t be eating tbh.
Seen plenty of scares over the years about fats, saturated fats, eggs, sugars, carbs, glutens, red meat, meat… Now Ultra Processed Food.
At this point, it’s just food. If you’re too fat eat less of it. If it’s actually dangerous don’t sell it.
Because no one actually knows. Studies or trends are done by crusaders for or against a certain food because they noticed for themselves it has some neg impact.
There are not enough actual studies on food or even healthcare. There was like 1 decent study for example on keto diet for athletes. Results weren’t valid for most people as they only looked at athletic results and how the athletes felt. Not the health impact for gen pop.
Healthcare is the same. I’ve lived my entire life following various medical advice due to medical issue. Recently that advice has changed. And I’m fkin pissed cuz after 40 fkin years I am finally pain free.
And I haven’t even touched the topic of both food and healthcare for women, poc, differing body-/lifestyle types.
Only thing I can agree on: consume less sugar and sauces. Sure my opinion is anecdotal, but everyone I know that has cut those 2 has seen great results.
