Ultra-processed food intake
% of energy
Diet quality marker. Tracks income, time poverty, and metabolic load.
UPF is both a cause of metabolic damage in feeding trials and a SES symptom. Using it as a moral explanation for other people's hormones skips the budget constraint.
Also called junk food, NOVA 4.
Connected relationships
MECHANISM+ INCREASES
Randomized trial · Moderate
Ultra-processed food intake→Insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)
Higher Ultra-processed food intake increases Insulin resistance (HOMA-IR).
In Hall's ward trial and Hamano's Tokyo crossover, ultra-processed menus matched for presented calories raised ad-lib intake and weight; Chen's US cohorts associate the same food class with later type 2 diabetes, not with measured HOMA-IR.
Sources
- K. D. Hall et al. (2019). Ultra-processed diets cause excess calorie intake and weight gain: an inpatient randomized controlled trial of ad libitum food intake
- S Hamano et al. (2024). Ultra-processed foods cause weight gain and increased energy intake associated with reduced chewing frequency: A randomized, open-label, crossover study.
- Z Chen et al. (2023). Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Three Large Prospective U.S. Cohort Studies.