Ultra-Processed Food Addiction: A Research Update

Abstract

Purpose of Review Detail recent advancements in the science on ultra-processed food (UPF) addiction, focusing on estimated prevalence rates and emerging health disparities; progress towards identifying biological underpinnings and behavioral mechanisms; and implications for weight management. Recent Findings Notable developments in the field have included: (1) estimating the global prevalence of UPF addiction at 14% of adults and 15% of youths; (2) revealing health disparities for persons of color and those with food insecurity; (3) observing altered functioning across the brain-gut-microbiome axis; (4) providing early evidence for UPF withdrawal; and (5) elucidating poorer weight management outcomes among persons with UPF addiction. Summary The breadth of recent work on UPF addiction illustrates continued scientific and public interest in the construct and its implications for understanding and treating overeating behaviors and obesity. One pressing gap is the lack of targeted interventions for UPF addiction, which may result in more optimal clinical outcomes for this underserved population.

Food Addiction Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment: A Protocol for Residential Treatment of Eating Disorders, Substance Use Disorders and Trauma-Related Psychiatric Comorbidity

“…We also acknowledge that patients from underprivileged, marginalized communities are underrepresented in our sample despite being in a population that is preferentially targeted by UPF advertising [99]. In addition, they may have limited access to whole, plant-based foods and may be subject to food insecurity [25,35,100]. Given this, our program staff will strive to provide culturally attuned, comprehensive care.…”

“…Despite these advances, FA/UPFA remains a relatively new and still controversial condition in clinical mental health care, and the most effective way to treat it, particularly from a nutritional perspective, represents a large gap in our evidence base [15,17,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. To date, there has been only one randomized controlled trial of a dietician-led telehealth intervention that showed significant positive effects on addictive eating in community participants [37].…”