The hard sell of ultra-processed foods in developing countries as being ‘good for you’ gives children a taste for sugar and salt that could have lasting effects on their health

The hard sell of ultra-processed foods in developing countries as being ‘good for you’ gives children a taste for sugar and salt that could have lasting effects on their health

  • neuropean
    1•1 year ago

    This is a pretty bad take, and definitely not one endorsed by scientists. One person represents a case report, not a study. In the world of academic medicine, you can find case reports on nearly anything, and people cite them as if they represent peer-reviewed scrutiny. If we’re to get anywhere on the matter, we need larger studies based on randomly assigned cohorts with controls to evaluate dietary influences on health, not whatever this is masquerading to represent.

    • some_guy
      3•1 year ago

      Damn I guess nobody thought about doing it scientifically. Oh well. Back to the Doritos I suppose.

      Oh wait:
      https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/processed-foods/

      https://www.science.org/content/article/ultraprocessed-foods-may-make-you-eat-more-clinical-trial-suggests

      https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318630

      https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2021/october/ultra-processed-foods.html

      Is… is that enough? Should I keep going?

    • MiscreantMouseOP
      2•1 year ago

      Literally no one is saying this was anything else, it’s not even really a case report, it’s a pop-sci book… which is why the book covers a bunch of the more rigorous academic research.

      Here’s some for you, if you’re up for it. Full article linked here.

      This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the association between consumption of ultraprocessed food and noncommunicable disease risk, morbidity and mortality. Forty-three observational studies were included (N = 891,723): 21 cross-sectional, 19 prospective, two case-control and one conducted both a prospective and cross-sectional analysis. Meta-analysis demonstrated consumption of ultraprocessed food was associated with increased risk of overweight (odds ratio: 1.36; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23-1.51; P < 0.001), obesity (odds ratio: 1.51; 95% CI, 1.34-1.70; P < 0.001), abdominal obesity (odds ratio: 1.49; 95% CI, 1.34-1.66; P < 0.0001), all-cause mortality (hazard ratio: 1.28; 95% CI, 1.11-1.48; P = 0.001), metabolic syndrome (odds ratio: 1.81; 95% CI, 1.12-2.93; P = 0.015) and depression in adults (hazard ratio: 1.22; 95% CI, 1.16-1.28, P < 0.001) as well as wheezing (odds ratio: 1.40; 95% CI, 1.27-1.55; P < 0.001) but not asthma in adolescents (odds ratio: 1.20; 95% CI, 0.99-1.46; P = 0.065). In addition, consumption of ultraprocessed food was associated with cardiometabolic diseases, frailty, irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia and cancer (breast and overall) in adults while also being associated with metabolic syndrome in adolescents and dyslipidaemia in children. Although links between ultraprocessed food consumption and some intermediate risk factors in adults were also highlighted, further studies are required to more clearly define associations in children and adolescents.