Professor Monteiro discussed how UPFs are displacing healthier, less processed foods all over the world, and also causing a deterioration in diet quality due to their several harmful attributes. Together, these foods are driving the pandemic of obesity and other diet-related chronic diseases, such as diabetes.

UPFs now provide near or more than half of the calories in diets in developed countries such as Canada (47%) the USA (60%) and the UK (57%), with lower but increasing proportions in middle-income countries such as Brazil (20%).

Explaining the possible reasons behind the wide variations in % dietary calories from UPF among countries, Prof. Monteiro says: “The high levels of close to half or more of total calories coming from ultra-processed foods are seen only in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. One explanation is the lower resilience of traditional dietary patterns in these countries and the fact that the UPF industry was born mostly in the US and then moved to other Anglo-saxon countries. Levels in Brazil are similar to levels in Colombia and lower than in Chile and Mexico, around 35%. But increases are being seen in all these countries. European countries, with strong food cultures, also have levels lower than in the US.”

In terms of disease risk, UPF diets have been shown to be associated with at least 25 chronic diseases including obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidaemias, hyperuricemia, heart attack, cerebrovascular disease, Crohn’s disease, peptic ulcer, chronic kidney disease, chronic pulmonary obstructive disease, colorectal adenoma, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, oesophagus adenocarcinoma, head and neck cancer, ‘frailty’, depression, anxiety, and dementia. And overall, direct associations were found between exposure to UPFs and 32 health parameters spanning mortality, cancer, and mental, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and metabolic health outcomes.

Prof. Monteiro concluded by looking at the similarities between the UPF and tobacco industries. “Both tobacco and UPFs cause numerous serious illnesses and premature mortality; both are produced by transnational corporations that invest the enormous profits they obtain with their attractive/addictive products in aggressive marketing strategies, and in lobbying against regulation; and both are pathogenic (dangerous) by design, so reformulation is not a solution.”