Glossary
Ultra-processed food
The NOVA classification's term for industrial assemblies of substances extracted from foods, marked by ingredients never or rarely used in kitchens. Such food supplies 55% of American calories.
Published Updated
Graded claims that mention Ultra-processed food
- Are seed oils inflammatory? What the trials showAgainst, as stated.Evidence grade: Probable. Good observational evidence with a plausible mechanism, or small or few trials.
Chapters of the book that mention Ultra-processed food
Where this comes from
In the reference topic that owns this term
Reference topic 11, The Hijacked Reward System, states the mismatch as a card: what the system evolved to expect, what it gets instead, and what happens in the gap.
Mismatch card
- What it expects
Sugar that costs effort or comes wrapped in fruit, ethanol at a fraction of a percent, and food that takes time to chew.
- What it gets
Ultra-processed food supplying 55% of American calories, and alcohol in concentrated drinks.
- What happens in the gap
Faster eating and about 500 kcal a day of extra intake in a controlled trial; 2.6 million alcohol-attributable deaths a year.
What that chapter recommends
3 of the 5 graded recommendations in Reference topic 11, strongest evidence first. How the grades work.
Add friction
ProbableEvidence grade: Probable. Good observational evidence with a plausible mechanism, or small or few trials.Keep hyper-palatable snacks out of sight and reach, and make whole foods the easy option at home and at work. Moving food farther away reduced how much people ate (low-certainty evidence).
Swap whole meals
ProbableEvidence grade: Probable. Good observational evidence with a plausible mechanism, or small or few trials.Start with the meals you eat most often. On a metabolic ward, people ate about 500 kcal a day less on minimally processed menus than on ultra-processed ones.
Shrink portions and slow down
ProbableEvidence grade: Probable. Good observational evidence with a plausible mechanism, or small or few trials.Smaller portions, packages and plates reduce intake, modeled at 144-228 kcal a day if sustained across the whole diet. Eating more slowly lowers intake without leaving people hungrier over the next few hours. ●●○
Related terms
Graded recommendations elsewhere that mention Ultra-processed food
- Change the food around you, not your willpowerEvidence grade: Probable. Good observational evidence with a plausible mechanism, or small or few trials.Topic 13
Other reference topics that mention Ultra-processed food
The argument behind this term, its studies and its notes are in Reference topic 11 of the reference library. The book gives the practical version. Get the book.