- A major new three-paper Series in The Lancet shows that ultra-processed foods are pushing aside fresh, minimally processed meals worldwide. The evidence links rising UPF consumption to poorer diet quality and higher risks of chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other long-term illnesses.
- The authors stress that while more research will deepen our understanding, the science already shows enough harm to justify immediate public health action. They argue that waiting for perfect evidence would only allow UPFs to become even more entrenched in global diets.
- The Series emphasizes that improving diets cannot depend on individual willpower alone. Meaningful change requires coordinated policies that limit UPF production, marketing, and availability, while also reducing excess fat, sugar, and salt in the food supply and expanding access to healthy, affordable options.
- The authors describe UPFs as the result of a food system built around corporate profit rather than nutrition or sustainability. They warn that only a united global effort can counter the powerful political strategies used by UPF companies, which remain the biggest obstacle to effective policy reform and healthier diets worldwide.
Global Surge of Ultra-Processed Foods Sparks Urgent Health Warning
The growing presence of UPFs in diets around the world is creating a serious health challenge that, according to a new three paper Series published in The Lancet and written by 43 international specialists, requires coordinated policy efforts and strong advocacy. The Series describes how UPF manufacturers work to boost consumption and block policies designed to protect public health. It also presents a plan for moving toward effective government regulation, greater community engagement, and wider access to healthier and more affordable foods.
Professor Carlos Monteiro, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, explains, “The growing consumption of ultra-processed foods is reshaping diets worldwide, displacing fresh and minimally processed foods and meals. This change in what people eat is fueled by powerful global corporations who generate huge profits by prioritizing ultra-processed products, supported by extensive marketing and political lobbying to stop effective public health policies to support healthy eating.”
Calls for Bold, Coordinated Policy Action Worldwide
Professor Camila Corvalan, University of Chile, Chile, continues, “Addressing this challenge requires governments to step up and introduce bold, coordinated policy action – from including markers of UPFs in front-of-package labels to restricting marketing and implementing taxes on these products to fund greater access to affordable, nutritious foods.”
Dr. Phillip Baker, University of Sydney, Australia, notes, “We need a strong global public health response – like the coordinated efforts to challenge the tobacco industry. Including safeguarding policy spaces from political lobbying and building powerful coalitions to advocate for healthy, fair and sustainable food systems and stand-up to corporate power.”
According to the Nova classification, UPFs are industrially formulated branded products created from low cost ingredients such as hydrogenated oils, protein isolates or glucose/fructose syrup, along with cosmetic additives (e.g. dyes, artificial sweeteners, emulsifiers). These products are intentionally developed and promoted to take the place of fresh foods and traditional meals while maximizing corporate profit (for a detailed definition see paper 1, panel 1).
Mounting Evidence Links UPFs to Chronic Diseases Globally
The first paper in the new Lancet Series[1] examines the scientific findings on UPFs and health since the Nova system was introduced by Prof Carlos Monteiro and colleagues in 2009. The evidence consistently shows that UPFs are replacing long-standing dietary habits, reducing overall diet quality, and are connected to higher risks of numerous chronic diet-related diseases.
National dietary surveys further illustrate the rapid rise of UPFs (paper 1, figure 1). The proportion of dietary energy provided by UPFs has tripled in Spain (11% to 32%) and China (4% to 10%) across the past 30 years, and has climbed from 10% to 23% in Mexico and Brazil over the previous 40 years. In the USA and UK, UPF intake has increased slightly over the last two decades but continues to remain above 50%.
New Analyses Reveal UPFs’ Link to Disease and Early Mortality
Evidence reviewed in the Series shows that diets high in UPFs are linked to overeating, poor nutritional quality (too much sugar and unhealthy fats, and too little fiber and protein), and higher exposure to harmful chemicals and additives. Additionally, a systematic review conducted for the Series, encompassing 104 long-term studies, found 92 reported greater associated risks of one or more chronic diseases, with meta-analyses showing significant associations for 12 health conditions, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, and early death from all causes (paper 1, figure 4, appendix p23-24).
The Series authors acknowledge valid scientific critiques of Nova and UPFs – such as lack of long-term clinical and community trials, an emerging understanding of mechanisms, and the existence of subgroups with different nutritional values – as key areas for future research (paper 1, panel 3). However, they argue future research must not delay immediate and decisive public health action justified by the current evidence.
Professor Mathilde Touvier, French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm), France, says, “While healthy debate about UPFs within the scientific community is welcomed, this should be distinguished from attempts by vested interests to undermine the current evidence. The growing body of research suggests diets high in ultra-processed foods are harming health globally and justifies the need for policy action.”
Policy Roadmap to Restrict UPFs and Improve Diet Quality
The second paper in the Series[2] outlines coordinated policies to regulate and reduce UPF production, marketing, and consumption, to hold large companies accountable for their role in promoting unhealthy diets (paper 2, table 1).
The paper sets out how improving diets worldwide requires specific UPF policies to complement existing legislation to reduce high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) content in foods.
Professor Barry Popkin, University of North Carolina, US, says “We call for including ingredients that are markers of UPFs (eg, colors, flavors, and sweeteners) in front-of-package labels, alongside excessive saturated fat, sugar, and salt, to prevent unhealthy ingredient substitutions, and enable more effective regulation.”
Successful National Initiatives Show Change Is Possible
The authors propose stronger marketing restrictions – especially for adverts directed at children, on digital media, and at the brand level – as well as banning UPFs in public institutions such as schools and hospitals, and placing limits on UPFs sales and shelf space in supermarkets. One success story is Brazil’s national school feeding program which has eliminated most UPFs and will require 90% of the food to be fresh or minimally processed food by 2026 (paper 2, panel 4).
Authors emphasize that alongside regulating UPFs, policies must expand access to fresh foods. This could be achieved by taxing selected UPFs to fund fresh food subsidies for low-income households.
Professor Marion Nestle, New York University, US, says, “Improving diets worldwide requires policies tailored to each country’s unique situation and how entrenched UPFs have become in people’s daily eating habits. While priorities may differ, urgent action is needed everywhere to regulate ultra-processed foods alongside existing efforts to reduce high fat, salt, and sugar content”.
Associate Professor Gyorgy Scrinis, University of Melbourne, Australia, adds, “Importantly, policies must ensure that fresh and minimally processed foods are accessible and affordable – not just for those with time to cook, but for busy families and individuals who rely on convenient options. Only by combining stricter regulation on poor quality food products with realistic support for more nutritious choices can we truly promote better diets for all.”
Understanding How Corporations Drive the UPF Explosion
The third paper in the Series explains how global corporations, not individual choices, are driving the rise of UPFs, and that a global health response to this challenge is urgent and feasible.[3]
Authors highlight how UPF companies use cheap ingredients and industrial methods to cut costs, paired with aggressive marketing and appealing designs to boost consumption.
With global annual sales of $1.9 trillion, UPFs are the most profitable food sector. UPF manufacturers alone account for over half of $2.9 trillion in shareholder payouts by all publicly listed food companies since 1962. These profits fuel growing corporate power in food systems, by resourcing UPF companies to expand production, marketing, and political influence, thereby reshaping diets worldwide.
Corporate Political Strategies Block Public Health Policy
The Series reveals how UPF companies employ sophisticated political tactics to protect profits – blocking regulations, shaping scientific debates, and influencing public opinion. They coordinate hundreds of interest groups worldwide, lobby politicians, make political donations and engage in litigation to delay policies (paper 3, table 1 and figure 2).
Professor Simon Barquera, the National Institute of Public Health of Mexico, Mexico, says “Powerful corporations – not individuals’ choices – are behind the global rise of ultra-processed foods. Through interest groups, these corporations often position themselves as part of the solution, but their actions tell a different story – one focused on protecting profits and resisting effective regulation.”
The authors call for a coordinated global public health response to protect policymaking from industry interference, end industry ties with health professionals and organisations, and build a global UPFs action advocacy network.
Professor Karen Hoffman, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, adds, “Just as we confronted the tobacco industry decades ago, we need a bold, coordinated global response now to curb the overproportionate power of UPF corporations and build food systems that prioritize people’s health and well-being.”
The Series says tackling UPFs must involve a different vision for our food systems – creating systems that support diverse local food producers, preserve cultural food traditions, promote gender equity, and ensuring the economic benefits of food production flow back to communities rather than shareholders.
Dr. Phillip Baker continues, “We are currently living in a world where our food options are increasingly dominated by UPFs, contributing to rising global levels of obesity, diabetes, and mental ill-health. Our Series highlights that a different path is possible – one where governments regulate effectively, communities mobilise, and healthier diets are accessible and affordable for all.”
References:
- “Ultra-processed foods and human health: the main thesis and the evidence” by Carlos A Monteiro, Maria LC Louzada, Euridice Steele-Martinez, Geoffrey Cannon, Giovanna C Andrade, Phillip Baker, Maira Bes-Rastrollo, Marialaura Bonaccio, Ashley N Gearhardt, Neha Khandpur, Marit Kolby, Renata B Levy, Priscila P Machado, Jean-Claude Moubarac, Leandro F M Rezende, Juan A Rivera, Gyorgy Scrinis, Bernard Srour, Boyd Swinburn and Mathilde Touvier, 18 November 2025, The Lancet.
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01565-X - “Policies to halt and reverse the rise in ultra-processed food production, marketing, and consumption” by Gyorgy Scrinis, Barry M Popkin, Camila Corvalan, Ana Clara Duran, Marion Nestle, Mark Lawrence, Phillip Baker, Carlos A Monteiro, Christopher Millett, Jean-Claude Moubarac, Patricia Jaime and Neha Khandpur, 18 November 2025, The Lancet.
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01566-1 - “Towards unified global action on ultra-processed foods: understanding commercial determinants, countering corporate power, and mobilising a public health response” by Phillip Baker, Scott Slater, Mariel White, Benjamin Wood, Alejandra Contreras, Camila Corvalán, Arun Gupta, Karen Hofman, Petronell Kruger, Amos Laar, Mark Lawrence, Mikateko Mafuyeka, Melissa Mialon, Carlos A Monteiro, Silver Nanema, Sirinya Phulkerd, Barry M Popkin, Paulo Serodio, Katherine Shats, Christoffer Van Tulleken, Marion Nestle and Simón Barquera, 18 November 2025, The Lancet.
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01567-3
The Lancet Series on Ultra-Processed Foods and Human Health, was supported by funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
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