Ultra-processed food

An ultra-processed food (UPF) (also referred to as predigested food^[1][2][3][4]) is an industrially formulated edible substance derived from natural food or synthesized from other organic compounds.^[5][6] The resulting products are designed to be highly profitable, convenient, and hyperpalatable, often through food additives such as preservatives, colourings, and flavourings.^[7] UPFs have often undergone processes such as moulding/extruding, hydrogenation or frying.^[8]

Ultra-processed foods first became ubiquitous in the 1980s,^[9] though the term "ultra-processed food" gained prominence from a 2009 paper by Brazilian researchers as part of the Nova classification system.^[10] As of 2024, research into the effects of UPFs is rapidly evolving.^[11][8]

Epidemiological data suggest that consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with higher risks of many diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, asthma, specific cancers, and all-cause mortality.^[12] Food addiction may also be associated with consumption of ultra-processed foods.^[13] A 2024 meta analysis published in The BMJ, identified over 34 studies that provide public health evidence of these effects, though the specific mechanism of the effects was not clear.^[11] Ultra-processed foods make up a significant proportion of the diet of developed countries, varying from 10% in Romania to over 50% in the United Kingdom and the United States.^[8]

Some authors have criticised the concept of "ultra-processed foods" as poorly defined, and the Nova classification system as too focused on the type rather than the amount of food consumed.^[14] Other authors, mostly in the field of nutrition, have been critical of the lack of attributed mechanism for the health effects, focusing on how the current research evidence doesn't provide specific mechanisms on how ultra processed in diets effects body systems.^[15]