In the Trump administration\u2019s quest to \u201cMake America Healthy Again,\u201d there may be no bigger target than ultraprocessed foods. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation\u2019s new health secretary, has cited \u201chighly chemically processed foods\u201d as a chief culprit behind an epidemic of chronic disease in the U.S., including ailments such as obesity, diabetes and autoimmune disorders.<\/p>\n
Such foods are \u201cpoisoning\u201d people, particularly children, Kennedy said during Senate confirmation hearings. He has vowed to work to remove such foods from federal programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Key to that goal, however, could be making sure that consumers understand basic facts about ultraprocessed foods and the role they play in daily meals. From sugary cereals at breakfast to frozen pizzas at dinner, plus in-between snacks of potato chips, sodas and ice cream, ultraprocessed foods make up about 60% of the U.S. diet. For kids and teens, it\u2019s even higher \u2014 about two-thirds of what they eat.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s concerning because ultraprocessed foods have been linked to a host of negative health effects, from obesity and diabetes to heart disease, depression, dementia and more. One recent study suggested that eating these foods may raise the risk of early death. Nutrition science is tricky, though, and most research so far has found connections, not proof, regarding the health consequences of these foods. Food manufacturers argue that processing boosts food safety and supplies and offers a cheap, convenient way to provide a diverse and nutritious diet.<\/p>\n
Most foods are processed, whether it\u2019s by freezing, grinding, fermentation, pasteurization or other means. In 2009, Brazilian epidemiologist Carlos Monteiro and colleagues first proposed a system that classifies foods according to the amount of processing they undergo, not by nutrient content. At the top of the four-tier scale are foods created through industrial processes and with ingredients such as additives, colors and preservatives that you couldn\u2019t duplicate in a home kitchen, said Kevin Hall, a researcher who focuses on metabolism and diet at the National Institutes of Health.<\/p>\n
Such foods are often made to be both cheap and irresistibly delicious, said Dr. Neena Prasad, director of the Bloomberg Philanthropies\u2019 Food Policy Program. \u201cThey have just the right combination of sugar, salt and fat and you just can\u2019t stop eating them,\u201d Prasad said. However, the level of processing alone doesn\u2019t determine whether a food is unhealthy or not, Hall noted. Whole-grain bread, yogurt, tofu and infant formula are all highly processed, for instance, but they\u2019re also nutritious.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the tricky part. Many studies suggest that diets high in such foods are linked to negative health outcomes. But these kinds of studies can\u2019t say whether the foods themselves are the cause of the negative effects \u2014 or whether there\u2019s something else about the people who eat these foods that might be responsible. Ultraprocessed foods, as a group, tend to have higher amounts of sodium, saturated fat and sugar, and tend to be lower in fiber and protein. It\u2019s not clear whether it\u2019s just these nutrients that are driving the effects.<\/p>\n
Hall and his colleagues were the first to conduct a small but influential experiment that directly compared the results of eating similar diets made of ultraprocessed versus unprocessed foods. Published in 2019, the research included 20 adults who went to live at an NIH center for a month. They received diets of ultraprocessed and unprocessed foods matched for calories, sugar, fat, fiber and macronutrients for two weeks each and were told to eat as much as they liked. When participants ate the diet of ultraprocessed foods, they consumed about 500 calories per day more than when they ate unprocessed foods, researchers found \u2014 and they gained an average of about 2 pounds (1 kilogram) during the study period.<\/p>\n
Some advocates, like Prasad, argue that the large body of research linking ultraprocessed foods to poor health should be more than enough to spur government and industry to change policies. She calls for actions such as increased taxes on sugary drinks, stricter sodium restrictions for manufacturers and cracking down on marketing of such foods to children. Last year, former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf broached the subject, telling a conference of food policy experts that ultraprocessed foods are \u201cone of the most complex things I\u2019ve ever dealt with.\u201d But, he concluded, \u201cWe\u2019ve got to have the scientific basis and then we\u2019ve got to follow through.\u201d<\/p>\n
In countries like the U.S., it\u2019s hard to avoid highly processed foods \u2014 and it’s not clear which ones should be targeted, said Aviva Musicus, science director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which advocates for food policies. Instead, it\u2019s better to be mindful of the ingredients in foods. Check the labels and make choices that align with the current dietary guidelines, she suggested. \u201cWe have really good evidence that added sugar is not great for us. We have evidence that high-sodium foods are not great for us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, ultraprocessed foods are a significant part of the U.S. diet and have been linked to various negative health effects. While more research is needed to fully understand the impact of these foods, consumers can take steps to manage their intake by being mindful of ingredients and making informed choices. Regulatory actions, such as increased taxes on sugary drinks and stricter sodium restrictions, may also be necessary to promote public health.<\/p>\n
A: Ultraprocessed foods are foods that have been created through industrial processes and contain ingredients such as additives, colors, and preservatives that cannot be duplicated in a home kitchen.<\/p>\n
A: Many studies suggest that diets high in ultraprocessed foods are linked to negative health outcomes, but more research is needed to fully understand the impact of these foods.<\/p>\n
A: Check the labels and make choices that align with the current dietary guidelines. Be mindful of added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat, and try to include more whole, minimally processed foods in your diet.<\/p>\n
A: Some advocates argue that regulatory actions, such as increased taxes on sugary drinks and stricter sodium restrictions, are necessary to promote public health, but more research is needed to inform policy decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to Ultraprocessed Foods In the Trump administration\u2019s quest to \u201cMake America Healthy Again,\u201d there may be no bigger target than ultraprocessed foods. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation\u2019s new health secretary, has cited \u201chighly chemically processed foods\u201d as a chief culprit behind an epidemic of chronic disease in the U.S., including ailments such as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":14065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14064","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dining"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/media.nbcnewyork.com\/2025\/03\/AP25066771959975.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&resize=1200%2C675&w=1200&resize=1200,675&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14064"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14064"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14066,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14064\/revisions\/14066"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}