Addicted to chips and ice cream? It’s as bad as drug addiction
Researchers say while naturally sourced foods tend to have more carbohydrates or more fats, but not high levels of both, ultra processed foods have disproportionately higher levels of both
If you find it difficult to resist ice cream, aerated drinks or biscuits, you have a medical problem.
A new analysis of 281 studies across 36 countries shows that a whopping 14 per cent of all adults of 12 per cent of children are hooked to ultra-processed foods or UPFs.
What is UPF?
UPFs, experts say, can be as addictive as narcotic drugs.
The analysis, published in the British Medical Journal, says the addictive food is high in refined carbohydrates and added fats.
UPFs is described as industrially produced foods containing ingredients not available in people’s kitchens.
The Guardian newspaper quoted Prof Ashley Gearhardt of the University of Michigan as saying that UPFs are not really food in the way we know food.
Naturally sourced foods tend to have more carbohydrates or more fats, but not high levels of both, whereas UPFs have disproportionately higher levels of both.
“The purpose of food is to provide nourishment. UPF’s primary purpose is profit and financial growth,” Gearhardt says.
UPF problems
According to experts, eating UPFs causes dopamine – a neurotransmitter in the brain – to spike, making people feel great. It then crashes, making us feel terrible.
“We crave the return of the good feeling, so we eat more UPFs,” The Guardian report says. “The dopamine spikes are similar to those caused by alcohol and nicotine, and the resulting addiction levels are almost identical too.”
UPFs, including ice cream, biscuits, soft drinks and sugary cereals, have been linked to cognitive decline, cancer, psychological distress and even early death.
Gearhardt previously created the Yale Food Addiction Scale by applying the same criteria that experts use to diagnose substance addiction.
The criteria include uncontrollable and excessive consumption, cravings and continued intake despite potential negative health effects.
Can people kick their addiction to ultra-processed foods?
Experts say individuals alone cannot battle the problem. In any case, many from disadvantage societies find that UPFs is what they can afford with their limited income.
“People are desperate to change their relationship with food but the pull is too strong,” says Gearhardt. “We need to change the environment and make the food industry accountable.”