Ultra-Processed Obesity
A timely review article about “The role of Ultra Processed Foods (UPF) in obesity” (by a team from the University of Sao Paulo and NYU) summarizes
a lot of evidence that sounds obvious e.g., diets “high in UPF promote overeating and increase the risk of overweight and obesity”, “the soft texture, high energy density and hyperpalatable nutrient combinations of UPF facilitate excessive energy intakes by affecting ingestive behaviors, satiety signalling and food reward systems”) but also obvious-sounding but not fully elucidated mechanisms (“UPF attributes (such as emulsifiers, non-nutritive sweeteners, acellular nutrients, and contaminants from processing and packaging materials) contribute to their obesogenic effects through a myriad of physiological pathways, including altered absorption kinetics, glycaemic response and the gut microbiota composition and function”).
First, a definition: “UPF are defined as industrial formulations manufactured by deconstructing foods into their component parts (for example, oils, starches and protein isolates), modifying them and recombining them with cosmetic additives (that is, additives used to disguise undesirable sensory properties or make products more attractive to see, taste, smell and/or touch.” Yummy.
Two things I found intriguing:
“UPF present evolutionarily novel nutritional, physical and chemical characteristics that might influence energy intake and weight homeostasis through multiple biological pathways, including food reward systems, appetite and/or satiety regulation and changes to the microbiome.” Going back to a recent article that showed differences in inflammaging in industrialized vs non-industrialized populations, it is very possible that inflammaging as it has been defined largely in a “Western Diet” context is the result of UPF consumption over time, in a way that is largely gut microbiome-driven.
“Additional research is warranted, especially regarding the effects of UPF exposure during pivotal life stages (such as pregnancy, childhood and adolescence), and to further clarify biological mechanisms of action.” I find that particularly interesting, not just for the health outcomes of UPF consumption during these life stages but also from an “habituation” (addiction?) perspective and its transmission to unborn children during pregnancy.
Article unfortunately paywalled: www.nature.com/articles/s41574-025-01143-7
Related articles, Open Access: https://www.jomes.org/journal/view.html?uid=1080&vmd=Full, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2829780,