Obesity, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases… the risks associated with poor diet are numerous. And could ultra-processed foods be partly responsible?
What are ultra-processed foods?
These are products manufactured in factories from raw materials such as wheat, corn, reconstituted meat, and others, which are broken down to extract by-products that are then further processed. Large amounts of sugar, salt, and fat are added to these substances, along with industrial additives (emulsifiers, artificial flavors, colorings, etc.) to make them tastier, increase their shelf life, or enhance their appearance.
The whole food is so altered by these chemical, physical, and biological processes that it loses all nutritional value.
The result: industrially produced edible substances, according to Christopher Van Tulleken, author of Ultra-Processed People, are low-cost, long-lasting substances.
If a product is packaged in plastic and contains a long list of unfamiliar ingredients, it is likely an ultra-processed food, he notes in his book.
Ultra-processed food became widespread in the 1970s in industrialized countries to meet the need for inexpensive and longer-lasting food.
Margarine, snacks, ready-to-serve sauces, salty and sweet biscuits, sugary drinks, sausages, and frozen pizzas are just a few examples, but there are many more.
In fact, supermarket aisles are filled with these items. For consumers, it is difficult to make an informed choice since they can only rely on the list of ingredients, which is not easy to decipher for the uninitiated.
Sugar, in particular, can be listed under fifty different names (dextrose, corn syrup, ethyl maltol, glucose, fructose, etc.).
How much do we consume?
Far too much.
In the United States, where the consumption of ultra-processed foods is the highest in the world, they account for 57% of the energy intake for adults and 67% for children aged 2 to 19.
Here is the translation:
The phenomenon is global. The consumption of these products has seen exponential growth over the past decades.
The highest sales are currently in North America, Australasia, Europe, and Latin America, but they are rising sharply in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, as large multinational companies that produce these foods are expanding into new markets.
The best-selling ultraprocessed foods in Quebec are:
- sugary drinks
- pure fruit juices
- industrial breads
- ready-to-eat meals
- flavored yogurts
What are the health consequences?
More and more studies show links between the consumption of ultraprocessed foods and the increase in obesity and chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. A diet high in ultraprocessed foods has also been associated with an increased risk of anxiety, depression, and cognitive decline.
The prevalence of obesity nearly tripled worldwide between 1975 and 2016.
The growth of the global prevalence of obesity has occurred alongside the increase in the consumption of ultraprocessed foods, observes the World Obesity Federation.
This is a view shared by Jean-David Zeitoun. The degree of certainty regarding the link between ultraprocessed foods and certain diseases varies depending on the disease, he explains. For obesity, diabetes, and fatty liver disease, the connection is fairly certain.
Why are ultraprocessed foods harmful?
The consumption of more processed foods can be associated with a higher intake of energy, fat, sugar, and salt.
Additionally, these foods contain various additives and preservatives, the long-term effects of which on health are not well understood. Some are potentially carcinogenic or may alter the composition of the gut microbiota, leading to the worsening of many chronic inflammatory conditions (such as polysorbate 80, carboxymethylcellulose, BHA and BHT, titanium dioxide, methylparaben, artificial sweeteners, etc.).
“When you buy a medication at the pharmacy, you are purchasing a product that comes from a heavily regulated system, meaning studies are conducted to determine whether the medication you are about to take is not too dangerous,” . “However, for certain products that you can buy at the supermarket and consume three times a day every day, no studies are conducted.”
The processing of foods is not a bad thing in itself. Bread and cheese, for example, fall into this category, as do canned goods. However, in the case of ultraprocessed foods, the chemical processes they undergo warrant, according to researchers, that they be classified in a separate category.
In addition to what they contain (processed substances, large amounts of sugar, salt, and fat), there is also everything they do not contain.
Indeed, ultraprocessed foods replace whole foods in the diet, such as fruits, vegetables, and legumes, which are rich in fiber, protein, and other essential nutrients.
When compared to other foods, ultraprocessed foods are lower in fiber, protein, calcium, potassium, zinc, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamins A, D, B6, and B12, riboflavin, and niacin than other foods.
"These products are not designed with a nutritional vision; they are consumer products."
Ultra-processed foods provide three times more free sugars and nearly three times less protein than other foods and ingredients.
According to a study published in 2019 in the scientific journal The Lancet, poor diet is responsible for more deaths than smoking. Around 11 million people die each year worldwide due to poor diet, which is 3 million more than those who die from tobacco. High sodium consumption and insufficient intake of whole grains and fruits are the main risk factors.
How can we reduce their consumption?
The obesity epidemic and the rise of chronic diseases present a significant challenge for public health. The costs they generate have been increasing exponentially for years.
However, governments have been slow to implement measures to curb the consumption of these foods.
“The government is doing nothing, or very little, in terms of public policies to change the situation,” he notes. “We still rely heavily on a voluntary approach, hoping that companies will reduce their advertising efforts or lower the sugar content in their products. But what we see globally is that this approach isn’t working.”
