Feb 3, 2023 07:02 PM
(This post was last modified: Feb 3, 2023 07:02 PM by C C.)
https://robertroybritt.medium.com/the-ma...2ab068048f
INTRO: Ultra-processed food, aka highly processed or junk food, now accounts for more than half of all calories consumed in the United States and the U.K., fueling soaring rates of obesity in adults and children and increasing the risk of physical disease, dementia and early death. But we just can’t get enough of this sticky sweet, salty, fatty, greasy, heavenly awful stuff.
In the past two decades, the proportion of calories from ultra-processed food consumed by U.S. kids grew from 61% to 67%. Rates exceed 50% and are increasing among U.S. adults, too, and are also high and on the rise in other industrialized countries.
It’s not entirely our fault.
Highly processed foods and drinks include everything from breakfast cereal, packaged muffins and flavored yogurt to potato chips, candy, soda, canned soup, instant noodles, pepperoni, boxed and frozen ready-to-eat dinners and, well, grocery store aisles are packed with this crap.
Here’s the thing: Junk food is not only ubiquitous and heavily marketed, but it’s designed by manufacturers to trigger a temporary emotional high.
Yep, the bulk of what we now eat is designed to be addictive.
A new poll finds 13% of U.S. adults ages 50 to 80 meet the criteria for addiction to highly processed food, and 44% have at least one of the symptoms of addiction. Rates are similar in younger adults and kids... (MORE - details)
INTRO: Ultra-processed food, aka highly processed or junk food, now accounts for more than half of all calories consumed in the United States and the U.K., fueling soaring rates of obesity in adults and children and increasing the risk of physical disease, dementia and early death. But we just can’t get enough of this sticky sweet, salty, fatty, greasy, heavenly awful stuff.
In the past two decades, the proportion of calories from ultra-processed food consumed by U.S. kids grew from 61% to 67%. Rates exceed 50% and are increasing among U.S. adults, too, and are also high and on the rise in other industrialized countries.
It’s not entirely our fault.
Highly processed foods and drinks include everything from breakfast cereal, packaged muffins and flavored yogurt to potato chips, candy, soda, canned soup, instant noodles, pepperoni, boxed and frozen ready-to-eat dinners and, well, grocery store aisles are packed with this crap.
Here’s the thing: Junk food is not only ubiquitous and heavily marketed, but it’s designed by manufacturers to trigger a temporary emotional high.
Yep, the bulk of what we now eat is designed to be addictive.
A new poll finds 13% of U.S. adults ages 50 to 80 meet the criteria for addiction to highly processed food, and 44% have at least one of the symptoms of addiction. Rates are similar in younger adults and kids... (MORE - details)
