Global Experts Urge Immediate Action Against Ultra-Processed Foods

International experts are calling for urgent measures to address the rising consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs), which pose significant health risks and hinder government action to mitigate their effects. A comprehensive three-part series on UPFs published in The Lancet highlights the need for immediate public health initiatives and outlines strategies for effective government regulation, community engagement, and affordable healthier diets.

The series involves the insights of forty-three specialists from around the world, including researchers from the University of Melbourne, Deakin University, and the University of Sydney. UPFs encompass convenience items like chips, sweets, and ready meals, characterized by processed ingredients and additives, often loaded with high levels of sugar, salt, and saturated fat, while providing limited nutritional value.

Associate Professor Gyorgy Scrinis, from the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences at the University of Melbourne, co-led the series. He emphasized the necessity for a bold and coordinated global response to tackle the issue of ultra-processing. “Only by combining stricter regulation of poor-quality food products with realistic support for more nutritious choices can we truly promote better diets for all,” he stated.

The first paper, co-authored by Dr. Priscila Machado from Deakin University’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), reviews evidence indicating that UPFs are displacing traditional dietary patterns and worsening overall diet quality. This shift is linked to an increased risk of various chronic diet-related diseases. “There is well-established evidence that ultra-processed foods are displacing healthy diets and harming health globally,” remarked Dr. Machado. “In the face of vested interests, we must be bold and address the issue to protect our collective health.”

Strategies for Effective Regulation

The second paper led by Associate Professor Scrinis outlines essential policies needed to regulate and decrease UPF production, marketing, and consumption. He advocated for measures ensuring that healthy, whole, and minimally processed foods are accessible and affordable to everyone, emphasizing that convenience should not come at the expense of nutrition. “Policies must ensure that healthy, whole, and minimally processed foods are accessible and affordable to all,” he added.

Recommendations include imposing stricter marketing restrictions, particularly targeting advertisements aimed at children across digital platforms, and banning UPFs in public institutions such as schools and hospitals. Furthermore, experts suggest limiting the shelf space allocated to UPFs in supermarkets. Professor Mark Lawrence, also from IPAN at Deakin University, reinforced this notion, stating, “Governments should be considering policies like restricting UPF marketing directed at children, placing front-of-pack warning labels on products, and getting UPFs out of hospitals and schools.”

The Role of Corporations in UPF Consumption

The third paper, led by Dr. Phillip Baker from the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health, delves into how global corporations, rather than individual consumer choices, are fueling the rise of UPFs. The study reveals that food companies often utilize inexpensive ingredients and industrial methods to cut costs, coupled with aggressive marketing strategies to enhance consumption.

The research also outlines tactics employed by food companies to influence legislation, including lobbying politicians, coordinating numerous interest groups globally, making political donations, and utilizing litigation to delay the implementation of policies. “As their global annual sales top $1.9 trillion, big food companies are making huge profits by replacing whole and minimally processed foods in diets with unhealthy ultra-processed foods,” Dr. Baker noted. He called for a robust global public health response to counter corporate influence, safeguard policy decisions from political lobbying, and foster powerful coalitions advocating for healthy, fair, and sustainable food systems.

The findings from this landmark series underscore the pressing need for comprehensive action to address the health implications of ultra-processed food consumption. As the evidence mounts, the call for coordinated public health initiatives becomes increasingly urgent, aiming to create a healthier future for populations worldwide.