Photo:Getty
Getty
Ultra-processed foods, which include staple junk food items like chips, candy and sugary breakfast cereals, are high in ingredients like fats and carbohydrates. Researchers stated that the speed at which ultra-processed foods deliver ingredients to the gut may be crucial to their “addictive potential,” as they work faster than minimally-processed foods, and can also affect the brain quicker. Additives like flavor and texture may also be contributing factors.
Ultra-processed foods include staple junk food items like chips and candy, and are high in fats and carbohydrates.Getty
Researchers determined that “behaviours around ultra-processed food may meet the criteria for diagnosis of substance use disorder in some people.”
Researchers wrote that “behaviours around ultra-processed food may meet the criteria for diagnosis of substance use disorder.”.Getty
Other experts say that declaring certain foods as addictive is not a simple process. Erin Palinski-Wade, a registered dietitian nutritionist,told Fox Digital Newsthat “food cravings are complex and tied into not just the nutrition profile of a food, but also the emotions and learned behaviors around eating.”
Palinski-Wade also noted that foods with high amounts of added sugars and fats are typically associated with high levels of cravings, which can lead to “addictive-like eating behaviors.” She was not involved in the original study.
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“Conceptualising ultra-processed foods high in carbohydrates and fats as addictive substances can contribute to efforts to improve health,” the recent study says.Getty
Other factors may lead to choosing ultra-processed foods over minimally-processed foods. Speaking withMedical News Today, registered dietitian nutritionist Kelsey Costa, who was also not involved in the original study, suggested that making healthier food options more affordable through policy reforms may help with the issue.“The social, economic, and structural factors contributing to the pervasive consumption of [ultra-processed foods] and their addictive potential remain significant challenges to public health,” she said. The BMJstudy also noted that ultra-processed foods are a vital source of calories for people in various countries and that the food environments are not always equal within the same country.
Though addiction to ultra-processed foods is not “an official diagnosis,” as the study reiterates, researchers write that classifying it as such could ultimately benefit and “lead to novel approaches” across realms like social justice and clinical care.
“There is converging and consistent support for the validity and clinical relevance of ultra-processed food addiction,” Ashley Gearhardt, a University of Michigan professor who led the study’s research, said in anews release. “By acknowledging that certain types of processed foods have the properties of addictive substances, we may be able to help improve global health.”
source: people.com
