London: The rapid worldwide rise in ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is fueling chronic disease and requires urgent, coordinated government action, warns a new study. The three-paper series published in the British medical journal The Lancet, produced by 43 international experts, concludes that UPFs are displacing fresh and minimally processed foods across the globe, worsening diet quality, and increasing the risk of conditions including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, and early death.

According to Anadolu Agency, Carlos Monteiro of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, stated that the growing consumption of ultra-processed foods is reshaping diets worldwide, displacing fresh and minimally processed foods and meals. He noted that powerful global corporations are driving this shift through extensive marketing and political lobbying. UPFs, which include products made with ingredients like hydrogenated oils, protein isolates, and artificial additives, now account for more than half of daily calorie intake in countries like the UK and US. The consumption of these foods has also surged over recent decades in Spain, China, Mexico, and Brazil.

The authors of the study argue that existing efforts to reduce fat, sugar, and salt are no longer sufficient. They call for a suite of new policies, ranging from adding UPF markers to front-of-pack labels to restricting advertising, banning UPFs in schools and hospitals, and taxing selected products to fund subsidies for fresh foods. Dr. Camila Corvalan, an expert in childhood obesity, diabetes, and malnutrition, emphasized the need for governments to introduce bold, coordinated policy action. Barry Popkin, director of the Global Food Research Program at the University of North Carolina, urged regulators to include ingredients that are markers of UPFs on packaging.

The series also highlights the political influence of major food corporations. With global sales of $1.9 trillion, the sector uses its resources to lobby against regulation, shape scientific debate, and delay policy action. Karen Hofman, founding director of the SAMRC Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, drew a parallel with the past confrontation with the tobacco industry, calling for a bold, coordinated global response. The authors stress that transforming food systems will require governments, communities, and civil society to work together to make healthier diets accessible and affordable for all.