Do you often search on Google for “pizza near me,” “donuts near me,” or “fast food restaurants near me” ? Are you among the ones who cannot resist buying all the tempting and crispy crunchy packets out there?
Then this news is for you.
Table of Contents
What are highly processed foods?
Fast foods are called “ultra-processed foods,” “highly processed foods,” or “hyperpalatable foods” based on the refined carbohydrates and trans fat contents in them.
Primarily, highly processed food examples include potato chips, sugary candies, fries, pizza, fuzzy carbonated soft drinks, and donuts.
Since a long time ago, these highly processed foods (HPFs) have been widely marketed and sold by the food industry. One cannot resist purchasing them by getting attracted to the alluring ads and packaging that are available everywhere in the market.
HPFs are very popular in grocery stores, marts, and malls because they are cheap, ready to eat, have ingredients that make you feel like your stomach is full, and a lot of brands focus their marketing on young consumers.
A study was done to make people aware of the health risks of these foods. It said that highly processed foods are as addictive as tobacco or smoking.
Who conducted the study?
The research was conducted by the Society for the Study of Addiction.
This study was led by Ashley N. Gearhardt, a psychologist and director of the University of Michigan’s Food and Addiction Science and Treatment Lab, and Alexandra G. DiFeliceantonio, an appetitive neuroscientist at Virginia Tech. It was published in the journal Addiction.
The researchers made use of criteria set by the 1988 US Surgeon General report on the health consequences of tobacco.
What and How was it done?
Because refined carbohydrates and/or added fats have been linked to eating habits that are similar to addiction, this study focused on “highly processed foods,” including “hyper-palatable” and “ultra-processed” foods.
The authors reveal that some of your favorite treats can be considered “tobacco-level addictive.” Yes! You read it right. Here, “addictive” does not only refer to their taste and temptation. Here, “addictive” means a level of addiction similar to that caused by a drug in tobacco, or nicotine.
The researchers compared highly processed foods against the criteria set by the 1988 US Surgeon General report on the health consequences of tobacco.
The SG report states four criteria to prove the addiction to tobacco and its products. This study applied the same criteria to highly processed foods to claim that highly processed foods cause the same level of addiction as tobacco and its products, including cigarettes.
The following criteria were used:
1. Compulsive:
Researchers conducted an experiment on rats where they were provided standard chow and industrial cheesecakes, chocolate, etc.
The rats had enough standard chow, but they could only eat HPFs after getting an electric shock as a punishment.
In the case of humans, comparisons were between those with smoking-related diseases who still cannot quit smoking and those who continue binge eating even after an obesity surgery.
2. Mood alterations:
The authors compared the mood changes that stimulate the brain’s reward centers after consuming tobacco or smoking to those after eating highly processed foods.
3. Reinforcement:
According to the SG reports, reinforcing means being sufficiently rewarding to maintain self-administration. The researchers looked for this criteria in tobacco-addicted humans and animal experiments. They looked for the same thing in the case of highly processed foods.
4. Strong Urge or Cravings
The 1988 SG report listed “strong urge” or “craving” for tobacco as a secondary criterion. However, considering the scientific evidence, researchers suggest that the primary criterion for determining whether a substance is addictive should be its capacity to elicit strong urges or cravings.
What did they Find?
Highly processed foods, according to the authors, meet every requirement outlined in a 1988 US Surgeon General report on the health consequences of tobacco.
1. Highly processed foods are compulsive
Concerning tobacco, it has been seen that people with diseases like cancer and heart disease that are caused by smoking are unable to stop smoking.
Researchers found that HPFs create a compulsive urge to consume, similar to tobacco.
This was clear from the experiment on rats, where they were ready to experience the foot shock to eat the delicious cheesecakes and frosting compared to normal chow.
Similarly, people undergoing obesity surgery fail when they are unable to stop eating highly processed foods and regain weight.
2. HPFs can cause mood alterations:
Tobacco and smoking rapidly supply nicotine to the brain, which causes mood changes like pleasure. Similarly, highly processed foods increase pleasure and reduce negative effects in people with addictive-like eating.
Concerning the changes in the brain, HPFs release almost the same amount of dopamine in the brain as tobacco does when consumed orally.
3. HPFs promote Reinforcement:
According to the SG reports, reinforcing means being sufficiently rewarding to maintain self-administration.
People who are addicted to tobacco or smoking and consume it on a regular basis or in conjunction with food Evidence states that animals work to get nicotine or stay near areas with nicotine access.
Similarly, highly processed foods are more rewarding than minimally processed foods like fruits and vegetables. People continue eating HPFs even after their appetites are full. HPFs are reinforcing as they can rapidly deliver refined carbohydrates, fats, and sweet tastes.
4. HPFs elicit Strong urges or cravings compared to MPFs
Researchers say that a strong desire or craving to use tobacco is the only thing that makes it compulsive. Smokers frequently try to quit but cannot do so because of the urge to smoke.
Similarly, the cravings for high-calorie foods like chocolate, sweets, pizza, etc. promote binge eating and lead to serious health-related disorders. Thus, they found that highly processed foods trigger stronger cravings than minimally processed foods (MPFs) like fruits and vegetables do.
What is the Research Impact ?
The researchers concentrated on raising awareness about the potential health risks of highly processed foods. These foods lead to increasing cases of diabetes melitus, obesity, cardiac diseases, cholesterol, blood pressure, ulcers, and even cancer.
The authors clearly state that cravings for HPFs can lead to serious health conditions; on the contrary, cravings for MPFs like fruits lead to positive health outcomes.
Moreover, the researchers even named a couple of tobacco companies, Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, that bought food and beverage companies and became some of the biggest producers of HPFs in the world from 1980 to the mid-2000s. They applied the same strategy as that for tobacco to sell their fast foods by targeting young minds to make huge profits.
Take away
The target market for food brands is school-age children. They are the ones who are most dependent on packaged snacks like chips, nachos, tacos, crunchy cheese balls, etc.
As an alternative to their own home-made tiffins, they purchase it on the way home from school or eat it even during lunch. As a result, their body mass index is imbalanced and children are becoming obese, which is having a bad impact on their health.
It is a common fact that “fast foods are not healthy.” According to this study, highly processed foods are addictive in terms of criteria like compulsive consumption, psychoactivity, reinforcement, and a strong urge, similar to tobacco products.
This study seeks to educate the public and policymakers about the need to categorize highly processed foods as “addictive”.
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Reference:
, . Highly processed foods can be considered addictive substances based on established scientific criteria. Addiction. 2022.
I enjoyed learning about the new study in this post. I particularly appreciated the way you explained the research jargon in a simple way.
An interesting discussion is definitely worth comment. I do believe that you should publish more about this subject, it may not be a taboo matter but typically people dont discuss these subjects. To the next! Many thanks!!
Thx for this article!
Informative article
Hi, it is interesting to know about the addiction caused by processed foods like chips, donuts, and fizzy drinks
Both children and adults should limit their consumption of ultra-processed foods. These foods, which are generally high in calories, added sugar, sodium, and unhealthy fats, have been linked to weight gain and an increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease
Nice article. Keep posting!