Are You Addicted To Ultra-Processed Foods?

Abstract: Findings of a new study from the University of Michigan (U-M) looked at how much ultra-processed foods do GenXers consume. A U-M press release on the findings states they were the “first generation of Americans to grow up with ultra-processed foods all around them – products typically loaded with extra fat, salt, sugar and flavorings. They were children and young adults at a time when such products, designed to maximize their appeal, proliferated.

A Generation Raised on Ultra-Processed Foods

Findings of a new study indicate that upwards of 21 per cent of women and 10 per cent of men that qualify as GenXers as well as the “tail end of the Baby Boom generation,” meet the criteria for being addicted to ultra-processed foods.

The study, which was published in the journal Addiction, was conducted by a research team from the University of Michigan (U-M) and based on data from upwards of 2,000 Americans surveyed by the U-M National Poll on Healthy Aging.

A U-M press release on the findings points out that GenX were the “first generation of Americans to grow up with ultra-processed foods all around them – products typically loaded with extra fat, salt, sugar and flavorings. They were children and young adults at a time when such products, designed to maximize their appeal, proliferated.”

Researchers, it adds, used something called the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0, a measuring mechanism that is used to diagnose substance use disorders:

“The scale asks about 13 experiences with ultra-processed foods and drinks that define addiction, such as strong cravings, repeated unsuccessful attempts to cut down, withdrawal symptoms, and avoiding social activities because of fear of overeating.

“In this case, the ‘substance’ is not alcohol or nicotine, but highly rewarding ultra-processed foods such as sweets, fast food and sugary beverages. By applying clinical addiction criteria to ultra-processed foods, the study highlights the ways in which such foods can ‘hook’ people.”

How Researchers Measured Addiction

Key findings revealed that:

• Women aged 50 to 80 who said they are overweight were more than 11 times as likely to meet criteria for ultra-processed food addiction than women who say their weight is about right. Men who reported being overweight were 19 times as likely.
• No matter what their age, 33 per cent of women who described themselves as overweight, 13 per cent of women who described themselves as slightly overweight and 17 per cent of men who described themselves as overweight met criteria for addiction to ultra-processed foods.
• Of the total sample, 31 per cent of women and 26 per cent of men said they were overweight, and 40 per cent of women and 39 per cent of men said they were slightly overweight.
• Men reporting fair or poor mental health were four times as likely to meet criteria for ultra-processed food addiction. Women were nearly three times as likely.

The Most at Risk

Ashley Gearhardt, a U-M professor of psychology who leads the U-M Food and Addictions Science & Treatment Lab (FAST), which explores the similarities between addictive and eating behaviors, said that women now aged between 50 and 64 “may have been exposed to ultra processed foods during a sensitive developmental window, which may explain the poll’s findings for this age group.”

She added that “the percentages we see in these data far outpace the percentages of older adults with problematic use of other addictive substances, such as alcohol and tobacco. We also see a clear association with health and social isolation, with much higher risks of ultra-processed food addiction in those who call their mental or physical health status fair or poor, or say they sometimes or often feel isolated from others.”