scientists have shown that eating ultra-processed foods leads to weight gain in little as 2 weeks

[Demovictory9]

In the first study of its kind, scientists have shown that eating ultra-processed foods leads to weight gain in human volunteers in as little as 2 weeks.

Volunteers put on weight after 2 weeks on an ultra-processed food diet.
There are plenty of studies in mice linking processed foods to problems such as obesity and intestinal inflammation.

But mice are not people, as critics of such studies are quick to point out.

In humans, researchers have reported associations between processed foods and health outcomes, such as an increased risk of developing obesity, cancer, autoimmune conditions, and even death.

Yet, ultra-processed foods make up a staggering 57.9% of energy intake in the United States.

According to the NOVA food classification system, ultra-processed foods include soft drinks, packaged snacks, meat nuggets, frozen meals, and foods high in additives and low in unprocessed ingredients.

"Previous studies have found correlations between ultra-processed food consumption and obesity," Kevin D. Hall, from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in Bethesda, MD, which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), explained to Medical News Today.

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"We hypothesized that ultra-processed foods might lead to increased calorie intake because they are often high in sugar, fat, and salt while being low in fiber," Hall told MNT. "Therefore, when we matched the ultra-processed and unprocessed diets for these nutrients, we expected the ultra-processed diet to result in similar calorie intake and little differences in body weight."

When the volunteers were on the ultra-processed diet, however, they ate an average of 508 calories more each day than when they were on the unprocessed diet. As a result, they put on an average of 2 pounds (0.9 kilograms) during this time, mostly in the form of body fat.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325194.php