Ultra-processed foods are linked to adverse health effects in every major organ system and represent a growing threat to public health worldwide, according to the largest scientific review of its kind published in The Lancet.
A series of three papers compiled by 43 international experts found that diets high in ultra-processed foods — including ready meals, sugary cereals, fizzy drinks and packaged snacks — are associated with higher risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, depression and early death from all causes.
In the United States and Britain, ultra-processed items now make up more than half the average diet, rising to 80% for some younger and lower-income groups. Across much of Asia and southern Europe, the share remains below 25%.
“The first paper in this Lancet series indicates that ultra-processed foods harm every major organ system in the human body,” said Prof. Carlos Monteiro of the University of São Paulo, a lead author and creator of the Nova food classification system. “The evidence strongly suggests that humans are not biologically adapted to consume them,” The Guardian reported.
A systematic analysis of 104 long-term studies showed 92 reported an increased risk of at least one chronic disease or premature death with higher ultra-processed food intake.
Researchers said powerful food corporations drive the trend through aggressive marketing, political lobbying, and efforts to influence science and regulation, while reformulating products to maintain profits rather than improve health.
“The growing consumption of ultra-processed foods is reshaping diets worldwide, displacing fresh and minimally processed foods and meals,” Monteiro said, per The Guardian. “This change in what people eat is fuelled by powerful global corporations who generate huge profits by prioritising ultra-processed products.”
The authors compared the current response to the early days of tobacco control, noting that some countries have begun restrictions, but global action remains limited.
Proposed measures include front-of-pack warning labels for ultra-processed foods, marketing bans for children, removal of products from schools and hospitals, and limits on supermarket shelf space.
Co-author Prof. Barry Popkin of the University of North Carolina called for labeling ingredients typical of ultra-processed foods “alongside excessive saturated fat, sugar, and salt, to prevent unhealthy ingredient substitutions, and enable more effective regulation.”
Industry representatives said many everyday items fall under the ultra-processed label and can fit within a balanced diet, pointing to years of voluntary reformulation to reduce sugar, salt, and fat.
However, Chris Van Tulleken, a professor at the University College London, pointed out that such reformulations are not always for the better.
“We took the fat out first, then we took the sugar out. We replaced the sugar with the sweeteners, the fats with gums. These products have been extensively reformulated, and we have seen obesity, particularly obesity in childhood and other rates of diet-related disease, persistently go up in line with reformulation,” he said, per The Independent.
Independent experts welcomed the review but urged caution, noting that most evidence shows association rather than proven causation and that further high-quality studies are needed.