Nevertheless, nutrition science is a complex field, and the majority of the study that has been conducted up until this point has only found associations, not proof, regarding the health effects of ultraprocessed meals. In a recent study, it was hypothesized that consuming these meals can increase the likelihood of dying at an earlier age. The manufacturers of food say that processing improves food safety and supplies, and that it provides a cost-effective and simple means to provide a diet that is both variety and healthy. Should we be concerned?
In the United States, almost sixty percent of the diet consists of ultraprocessed foods. These items include sugary cereals for morning, frozen pizzas for dinner, and snacks such as potato chips, sodas, and ice cream in between meals. What else is there to do, or in this case, what are we supposed to eat?!
Kevin Hall, a researcher at the National Institutes of Health who works on metabolism and diet, and his colleagues were the first to undertake a modest but influential experiment that directly examined the outcomes of eating similar meals comprised of ultraprocessed versus unprocessed foods. Although the experiment was very small, it had a significant impact on the field. Twenty participants participated in the study at a National Institutes of Health location for a period of one month. Over the course of two weeks, they were given meals consisting of ultraprocessed and unprocessed foods that were matched for calories, sugar, fat, fiber, and macronutrients. Additionally, they were instructed to consume as much food as they want.
It’s better to understand the mechanisms by which they drive the deleterious health consequences, if they’re driving them, explained Hall.
The findings that the researchers discovered were both shocking and genuinely intriguing. It was discovered by the researchers that when the participants consumed a diet consisting of ultraprocessed foods, they ingested around 500 calories per day more than when they consumed unprocessed foods. Furthermore, during the course of the study, the subjects gained an average of approximately 2 pounds (1 kilogram). They lost approximately two pounds, which is equivalent to one kilogram, when they consumed just unprocessed foods for the same amount of time.
The research was first made public in 2019. An ongoing investigation into the potential dangers of ultraprocessed meals is being carried out by researchers.
