What makes you fat often also kills you

Dossier The temptation that makes us sick 5 articles

• Ultra-processed foods, as addictive as they are dangerous: "They make people sick"
• "We need to legislate so that everyone can access fresh produce."
• Is it time to tax ultra-processed foods in Europe?
• "When a child eats a croissant or a chocolate bar, they stop eating fruit or fresh food."
• What makes you fat often also kills you

  

It's an easy, generally cheap, almost always tasty, and undoubtedly addictive food. The problem is that it hurts, as it harms human health, causing not only obesity and diabetes but also heart disease, cancer, and depression. There is scientific evidence showing that continuous consumption can, in some cases, lead to premature death. That's why, recently, fifty researchers made an appeal to the journal The Lancet demanding legislative measures to curb ultra-processed food, which they describe as a "global threat." UNICEF published a report last September calling childhood obesity worldwide a "silent epidemic" and warning that the advertising and distribution of ultra-processed foods must be controlled, as it now considers them a greater threat to children's health than malnutrition. And in the United States, the San Francisco district attorney has announced that he will sue major food companies because, he claims, the food they manufacture is as harmful to people's health as tobacco or opioids.

Indeed, it is food designed to be as addictive as drugs. It is no coincidence that some of the biggest brands are also backed by tobacco companies, which have applied the same strategy they used for tobacco. These are foods that contain virtually no ingredients you'd find in a normal kitchen. Instead, they're designed to have the ideal concentration of salt, sugar, and saturated fats to give the consumer pleasure. When we eat them, the brain reacts with a pleasurable sensation—prefabricated with these ingredients—making us crave more and more. Basically, we're talking about the classics. snacks such as potato chips, flavored yogurts, ready-made meals, sausages, instant soups, sugary drinks, industrial pastries, cookies, juices, etc.

There is debate surrounding the definition of ultra-processed food, and some are more harmful to health than others. But even with more or less scientifically accepted classifications, such as the NEW one, the truth is that almost everyone is clear on what foods we're talking about when we refer to ultra-processed foods. The problem is that the food industry, always very powerful, uses terminology to avoid or slow down regulations that should have been clearer and stricter long ago.

For now, beyond requiring ingredients to be listed on labels and preventing them from being found in school cafeterias or vending machines in hospitals and educational centers, little is being done to combat this epidemic that UNICEF is talking about. What scientists, and the San Francisco district attorney, want is for companies to assume their responsibility for public health, so the first step is to demonstrate, as science is increasingly showing, that they are indeed seriously harmful to our health. Just as with tobacco, we must acknowledge the harm and then implement measures to prevent or reduce its consumption. Everyone is free to smoke or eat as many ultra-processed foods as they want, but they should be aware that this will not only make them gain weight, but could also lead to premature death.

Dossier The temptation that makes us sick 5 articles

• Ultra-processed foods, as addictive as they are dangerous: "They make people sick"
• "We need to legislate so that everyone can access fresh produce."
• Is it time to tax ultra-processed foods in Europe?
• "When a child eats a croissant or a chocolate bar, they stop eating fruit or fresh food."
• What makes you fat often also kills you