Ultra-Processed Food Intakes Are Associated with Depression in the General Population: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

"Food faddists and pseudoscientists!": Reflections on the history of resistance to ultra-processed foods

The term 'ultra-processed food' emerged in the 1980s, mostly used in reference to highly-processed convenience foods and snacks, often energy-dense, poor in nutrients, and inclusive of various synthetic additives such as emulsifiers, colors, artificial sweeteners, and/or flavor enhancers. Concern over such foods was part of the growing holistic and environmental health movements of the 1970-80s; yet, those who raised alarm about the encroachment of ultra-processed foods were often labeled, especially by industry and their powerful allies, as 'food faddists' and 'pseudoscientists'. Today, the topic of ultra-processed foods is generating massive personal, public, and planetary health interest. However, other than discussing the history of the NOVA food classification system, a useful tool that has allowed researchers to more accurately separate foods based on processing, most lay media and academic articles are ahistorical. That is, there is a tendency to present the term ultra-processed food(s) as a relatively new entrance into the lexicon, and by default, the idea that health-related pushback on ultra-processed foods is a relatively new phenomenon. This omission overlooks decades of determined advocacy and clinical work, much of it by pioneers within the holistic medicine (now integrative, functional, and lifestyle medicine) movement. Here in this reflection paper, the authors will use historical research and reporting to fill in the historical gap and articulate the saliency of why it matters.

Common mental disorders in Brazilian adolescents: association with school characteristics, consumption of ultra-processed foods and waist-to-height ratio

Half of all mental health problems diagnosed in adulthood have their onset before or during adolescence, especially common mental disorders (CMD). Thus, it is relevant to study the factors associated with these disorders. This study aimed to investigate the association of school characteristics, consumption of ultra-processed foods, and waist-to-height ratio with the presence of CMD in Brazilian adolescents. This is a school-based, cross-sectional study that analyzed data from 71,553 Brazilian adolescents aged 12-17 years. The prevalence of CMD in these adolescents was 17.1% (cut-off point 5 for the General Health Questionnaire-12). Associations were estimated using multilevel logistic models, with the presence of CMD as the dependent variable. The final model, adjusted for non-modifiable individual variables, modifiable individual variables and family characteristics, identified a positive association between private-funded schools (OR = 1.10; 95%CI: 1.07-1.14), advertisements for ultra-processed foods (OR = 1.13; 95%CI: 1.09-1.17), the second to fourth quartiles of ultra-processed food intake and waist-to-height ratio (OR = 2.26; 95%CI: 2.03-2.52). This study demonstrated that the private-funded schools , the presence of ultra-processed food advertisements, the consumption of ultra-processed food, and an increased waist-to-height ratio are risk factors for CMD in Brazilian adolescents.

Nutritional Criminology: Why the Emerging Research on Ultra-Processed Food Matters to Health and Justice

There is mounting concern over the potential harms associated with ultra-processed foods, including poor mental health and antisocial behavior. Cutting-edge research provides an enhanced understanding of biophysiological mechanisms, including microbiome pathways, and invites a historical reexamination of earlier work that investigated the relationship between nutrition and criminal behavior. Here, in this perspective article, we explore how this emergent research casts new light and greater significance on previous key observations. Despite expanding interest in the field dubbed 'nutritional psychiatry', there has been relatively little attention paid to its relevancy within criminology and the criminal justice system. Since public health practitioners, allied mental health professionals, and policymakers play key roles throughout criminal justice systems, a holistic perspective on both historical and emergent research is critical. While there are many questions to be resolved, the available evidence suggests that nutrition might be an underappreciated factor in prevention and treatment along the criminal justice spectrum. The intersection of nutrition and biopsychosocial health requires transdisciplinary discussions of power structures, industry influence, and marketing issues associated with widespread food and social inequalities. Some of these discussions are already occurring under the banner of 'food crime'. Given the vast societal implications, it is our contention that the subject of nutrition in the multidisciplinary field of criminology-referred to here as nutritional criminology-deserves increased scrutiny. Through combining historical findings and cutting-edge research, we aim to increase awareness of this topic among the broad readership of the journal, with the hopes of generating new hypotheses and collaborations.

Beyond Plants: The Ultra-Processing of Global Diets Is Harming the Health of People, Places, and Planet

Global food systems are a central issue for personal and planetary health in the Anthropocene. One aspect of major concern is the dramatic global spread of ultra-processed convenience foods in the last 75 years, which is linked with the rising human burden of disease and growing sustainability and environmental health challenges. However, there are also calls to radically transform global food systems, from animal to plant-derived protein sources, which may have unintended consequences. Commercial entities have moved toward this "great plant transition" with vigor. Whether motivated by profit or genuine environmental concern, this effort has facilitated the emergence of novel ultra-processed "plant-based" commercial products devoid of nutrients and fiber, and sometimes inclusive of high sugar, industrial fats, and synthetic additives. These and other ingredients combined into "plant-based" foods are often assumed to be healthy and lower in calorie content. However, the available evidence indicates that many of these products can potentially compromise health at all scales-of people, places, and planet. In this viewpoint, we summarize and reflect on the evidence and discussions presented at the Nova Network planetary health meeting on the "Future of Food", which had a particular focus on the encroachment of ultra-processed foods into the global food supply, including the plant-sourced animal protein alternatives (and the collective of ingredients therein) that are finding their way into global fast-food chains. We contend that while there has been much uncritical media attention given to the environmental impact of protein and macronutrient sources-meat vs. novel soy/pea protein burgers, etc.-the impact of the heavy industrial processing on both human and environmental health is significant but often overlooked, including effects on cognition and mental health. This calls for a more nuanced discourse that considers these complexities and refocuses priorities and value systems towards mutualistic solutions, with co-benefits for individuals, local communities, and global ecology.

Ultra-Processed Foods, Diet Quality and Human Health

The increase in the volume of industrially processed products in the global food supply has coincided with an increasing prevalence of obesity and non-communicable diseases in many countries, suggesting that ultra-processed foods (UPF) consumption may be detrimental to human health [...].