Ultra-processed Food Addictions, Generation By Generation

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have a well-earned bad reputation. And yet, most of us still consume at least some, and many people meet the criteria for ultra-processed food addiction.

Now, some UPFs are healthy in moderation. See for example: Not all ultra-processed foods are bad for your health, whatever you might have heard

But we said the bad reputation was well-deserved, and that was true. Most UPFs have a single goal, and that goal isn’t to enrich your health (it’s to increase the company’s profit margin).

They generally do this by:

• Reducing the costs of production by using more shelf-stable ingredients
• Reducing loss of products at the retail stage (many ultra-processed products can be sold tomorrow or next week or next month, while raspberries need to be sold by half past four at the latest, for example, or else they must be heavily reduced in price, and then often thrown out)
• Increasing sales by including high amounts of ingredients that trigger addiction mechanisms (e.g. sugar, salt, fat—which yes, we need all of those things in moderation, but these foods often contain megadoses)

For how that latter one works, see for example: Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine – by Dr. David Kessler

Or if you’re not up for reading a whole book, then perhaps our main feature: The Not-So-Sweet Science Of Sugar Addiction

By the numbers

Researchers (Dr. Lucy Loch et al.) looked into this on a generation-by-generation level, noting that today’s 50–64-year-olds were the first to grow up surrounded by ultra-processed foods, which opened critical developmental windows for addiction vulnerability.

Children today consume even higher proportions, which doesn’t bode well for the future, especially on account of these sobering numbers: How Likely Is It That Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs) Will Kill You?

We promised numbers and generational data, so:

General prevalence: 21% of women and 10% of men in Generation X and younger Baby Boomers (ages 50–64) meet criteria for ultra-processed food addiction, compared with 12% of women and 4% of men ages 65–80. One factor for the spike in Gen X may well be the marketing of “diet” ultra-processed foods in the 1980s that reinforced addictive eating.

However: women ages 50–80 who said they were overweight were 11x more likely, and men in the same age bracket were 19x more likely, to meet addiction criteria than those who said their weight was “about right.”

Note: this latter bit is unrelated to BMI (which is a woefully inadequate system in any case), and rather is a matter of self-assessment. Rather than this meaning that it is subjective and irrelevant, however, what it means is that it is subjective and highly relevant, because our own perception of our weight can and will influence our dietary choices. You might think that someone who considers themself overweight would go for the healthier, least processed options, but often comfort foods come in colorful packages.

Additionally, Dr. Koch and her team noted that “health-washed” ultra-processed foods (marketed as low-fat, high-protein, etc) may particularly hook people who perceive themselves as overweight, especially women under social weight pressure.

We can further see the relevance of self-assessment, as the researchers observed that women with fair to poor mental health (i.e. not good, in any case) were 3x more likely than average to meet the criteria for UPF addiction, while men in the same boat were 3–4x more likely than average.

You can read the paper in its entirety, with data tables and such, here: Ultra-processed food addiction in a nationally representative sample of older adults in the USA

Want to improve your own dietary habits?

First, it’s good to be well-informed. Reading 10almonds is a great start! Of course, we can’t cover every product in your local supermarket though, so check out this:

How Processed Is The Food You Buy, Really? ← includes a huge, free database!

If you prefer a short hit-list, then here you go: Top 10 Unhealthy Foods: How Many Do You Eat?

And if you know which UPFs you want to cut out, but knowing isn’t the problem, then here’s our main feature on that: When It’s More Than “Just” Cravings: How To Beat Food Addictions!

Want to learn more?

You might like this book we reviewed a little while back:

Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind The Food That Isn’t Food – by Dr. Chris van Tulleken

…and/or as a next step,

Unprocess Your Life: Break Free From Ultra-Processed Foods For Good – by Rob Hobson ← Rob Hobson is not a doctor, but he is a nutritionist with half the alphabet after his name (BSc, PGDip, MSc, AFN, SENR) and decades of experience in the field.

Take care!