Researchers who found ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have more in common with cigarettes than vegetables, have suggested they should face stricter regulation. Results of the study were published in the healthcare journal ‘The Milbank Quarterly’.
The researchers from three United States (U.S) universities found that both products have been engineered to encourage consumption and addiction, and called for public health efforts to limit their impact.
Evidence from 50 countries now links high UPF consumption to rising rates of obesity, neurological changes and metabolic dysfunction, such as Parkinson’s disease.
Recent estimates indicate that one American dies every four minutes from preventable diseases associated with these products. Scientists from Harvard, Duke University and the University of Michigan found both industries had used similar strategies to evade regulation and increase product appeal, which “collectively hijack human biology”.
