Professor Carlos Monteiro from the University of São Paulo will discuss the growing threat of ultra-processed foods to both kids and adults at the International Congress on Obesity this week.
"Ultra-processed foods are gaining more ground in diets worldwide, despite posing health risks like increasing the chances of many chronic diseases," Monteiro explained to the Guardian before the São Paulo conference.
"Ultra-processed foods are pushing aside healthier, less processed options globally, leading to poorer diet quality because of their many harmful characteristics. This trend is fueling the obesity epidemic and contributing to diseases like diabetes."
This serious alert comes as the world sees a sharp increase in consuming ultra-processed foods like cereals, protein bars, soda, ready meals, and fast food.
In the UK and US, over half of what people typically eat is now ultra-processed food. For many, especially younger folks, those with lower incomes, or those in less privileged areas, their diets can be up to 80% ultra-processed foods.
In February, the biggest review ever conducted on this topic revealed that ultra-processed foods are directly connected to 32 negative health outcomes. These include increased risks of heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, poor mental health, and early death.
Fifteen years ago, Monteiro and his team coined the term UPF while creating the "Nova" food classification system. Nova evaluates not just the nutritional content but also how foods are processed before you eat them.
The system categorizes food and drinks into four groups: minimally processed, culinary ingredients, processed, and ultra-processed.
Monteiro expressed to the Guardian that he is deeply worried about how ultra-processed foods are affecting our health. He believes that simply studying and reviewing them isn't enough anymore to alert the public about the risks they pose.
"We need public health campaigns similar to those against tobacco to combat the dangers of ultra-processed foods," he emphasized in an email to the Guardian. "These campaigns should educate about the health risks associated with consuming ultra-processed foods."
"Advertisements for ultra-processed foods should be banned or tightly controlled, and we should introduce prominent warnings on the front of packages, similar to those on cigarette packs," he suggested.
He will propose to delegates: "We should ban the sale of ultra-processed foods in schools and health facilities, and impose high taxes on them. The revenue generated could then be used to make fresh foods more affordable."
Monteiro will inform the conference that big food companies promoting ultra-processed foods understand that to stay competitive, their products need to be more convenient, cheaper, and tastier than freshly cooked meals. "To boost profits, these foods are designed to be cheaper to make and encourage excessive consumption," he explained.
He will also compare ultra-processed foods to tobacco companies. "Both cause serious illnesses and early death. They're made by big global corporations that use their huge profits from addictive products to aggressively market them and fight against regulations. And like tobacco, they're inherently harmful, so simply changing the recipe won't fix the problem."
But Dr. Hilda Mulrooney, a nutrition and health expert at London Metropolitan University, believes that likening ultra-processed foods to tobacco is overly simplistic.
"There's no such thing as a safe cigarette, not even second-hand smoke, which is why banning them is relatively straightforward since the health risks are very clear.
"However, we require a variety of nutrients, including fat, sugar, and salt, which serve multiple purposes in foods such as structural integrity and shelf-life, not just taste and flavor.
"It's not as simple to reformulate certain types of foods to lower these ingredients, and unlike tobacco, we actually need food—just not in the excessive amounts many of us are consuming."
SOURCE: The Guardian