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Ultraprocessed Foods Like Sodas and Sweets Should Be Regulated Like Cigarettes: Study
Study shows ultra-processed foods use addictive techniques like tobacco; 60% of teenagers consume at least one product daily, urging urgent regulatory action.
- Researchers at Harvard, the University of Michigan and Duke University recommended tobacco-style regulations for ultra-processed foods in a study published this week in the Milbank Quarterly, citing similarities to cigarettes and calling for measures like clearer labeling and marketing restrictions.
- The researchers say ultra-processed foods are industrially engineered to optimize addictive ingredient doses and encourage overuse, and they argue opting out of the modern food supply is difficult, intensifying urgent regulation after a UNICEF study in The Lancet two months earlier.
- In developed countries, consumption data show over 50% of calories come from UPFs, 10-35% of children aged five and under drink sweet soft drinks regularly, and 60% of teenagers ate at least one UPF yesterday, placing new pressures on stretched health systems.
- Githinji Gitahi of Amref warned of a 'growing public health alarm', while critics cautioned the study risks 'overreach' in equating UPFs with tobacco.
- Debate remains over the policy question: Should UPFs be regulated like tobacco products? Professor Martin Warren questions if UPFs are "intrinsically addictive in a pharmacological sense" or reflect learned preferences.
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Scientists recommend the introduction of warnings and stricter advertising guidelines for ultra-processed foods, as they increase the risk of addictive overeating.
According to scientists, manufacturers of such foods use the same methods in their sales as the tobacco industry.
Are ultra-processed foods as harmful as cigarettes?
A study by scientists from Harvard University, the University of Michigan, and Duke University has called on authorities to take the same steps against ultra-processed foods (UPFs) as they did against cigarettes. But are UPFs really as bad for your health as cigarettes?
·Mumbai, India
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Total News Sources12
Leaning Left3Leaning Right0Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution57% Center
Bias Distribution
- 57% of the sources are Center
57% Center
L 43%
C 57%
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