Login
Big Tobacco Uses Cigarette Playbook to Help Sell Ultra-Processed Foods, Journal Reveals
The new issue of the American Journal of Public Health focuses on ultra-processed foods, and reveals that big tobacco companies used strategies that helped them sell cigarettes to sell ultra-processed food products, including Lunchables, geared toward children.
The parallels between ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and cigarettes include not only how UPF products were formulated and marketed to drive excess consumption, but also the growing body of evidence linking UPFs to a variety of health risks. For UPFs, these include cardiovascular diseases, certain cancers and cognitive health decline.
During an AJPH press briefing on Tuesday, Cindy Leung, a public health nutrition professor at Harvard, said people whose diet contained high quantities of UPFs “had a 58% higher risk of developing dementia, a 46% higher risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, and a 47% higher risk of either of those two outcomes”.
Leung emphasized that these findings are based on observational studies — clinical trials on nutrition are often impractical — but argued that they are both significant and “biologically plausible”, meaning that there are strong theories about why UPFs might cause these health conditions.
Top Ultra-Processed Food Researchers Call for Sweeping Policy Change: ‘The System Is Rigged’
The all-star lineup of ultra-processed food researchers who teamed up on a new special edition of the American Journal of Public Health have an overarching message for policymakers: “Do policy!” That directive, offered by food politics scholar Marion Nestle during a press call ahead of the issue’s release, is accompanied by new polling that shows broad cross-partisan concerns over the health harms associated with ultra-processed foods.
A survey of 2,000 U.S. adults included in the new issue found that the overwhelming majority of Democrats, Republicans, and independents agreed that ultra-processed foods are addictive and a major cause of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
The survey also found majority support in all parties for government interventions including testing additives for safety before they can be included in food products, banning artificial dyes, requiring warning labels, and ordering companies to reduce the amount of sugar and salt in their foods.
One Extra Serving of Processed Meat a Day Linked to Higher Cancer Risk
Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research. While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years. The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
Adding to the List of Dementia Risks: A Diet High in Ultraprocessed Foods
The Wall Street Journal reported:
Eating a diet high in ultraprocessed foods is associated with an increased risk of dementia, according to new research, adding to the growing list of health problems linked to foods such as packaged cookies, hot dogs and chips.
In a study published Wednesday in the American Journal of Public Health, the group of people who reported eating the highest amount of ultraprocessed foods had a 58% higher risk of later developing dementia and a 46% increased risk of developing cognitive impairment than those who said they ate the least.
The study involved more than 5,300 U.S. adults age 50 and older and followed them for almost nine years, on average. The researchers, from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and other institutions, aimed to home in on the impact of ultraprocessed foods by accounting for a range of other factors that affect health, including education, income, smoking, physical activity and alcohol use.
The Driscoll’s Strawberry Report Raised a Big Question: Is There a Better Way to Grow Our Food? Here’s the Answer.
The Driscoll’s strawberry story, the Dirty Dozen, the PFAS findings in produce — taken together, they paint a concerning picture of how conventionally grown food reaches your table. But the conversation doesn’t have to stop at what’s wrong.
There are farming systems actively working to change the pesticide equation, and the science behind them is compelling. Here’s what they look like, what the research shows, and why the food industry’s recent behavior makes the consumer side of this more important than ever.
The terms “regenerative” and “organic” get used interchangeably in food marketing, but they mean different things and the distinction matters for the pesticide conversation specifically.
