Excerpt
Food processing has generally been considered to be a technological asset, used to enhance the taste, nutritional value, shelf-life, transportability, and safety of dietary staples. Yet with the advent of modern industrial practices, processing has also acquired negative connotations, and recently, concerns about ultraprocessed food (UPF) have become widespread. Observational research has linked consumption of UPF to a wide range of chronic conditions, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and behavioral disorders. A report on childhood health from the federal Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) commission released in May 2025 mentions the concept of harm associated with UPF dozens of times, signaling the possible inclusion of this category in the forthcoming Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030. The available evidence, however, suggests that a focus in national nutrition policy on reducing UPF consumption won’t make Americans any healthier.