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The Epidemic of Ultra-Processed Foods

Name

Institution

Course

Professor

Date
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FOOD7006 Future Food Assessment 1. Letter to Editor

Name: _________________________ Candidate No: ________________ Date of

Submission:_______________ Words count: _______516__________

The Epidemic of Ultra-Processed Foods

Dear Editor,

I am responding to an article titled “Which processed foods are better than natural?”
The article was published on 15 th November 2023. As a nutritionist, my confidence cannot be
justified by the statement “Actually, naturalness does not automatically mean a food is
healthy…In fact, natural foods can contain toxins, and minimal processing can in fact make
them safer,” in your article (Brown, 2023). You also stated that the production costs of
processed foods are lower making them less expensive. However, such products are rich in
additives and refined ingredients and cause several health problems such as obesity, diabetes
type 2, and cancer. though there is a sufficient amount of evidence that ultra-processed foods
are harmful to the health, it continues being dominant in our supermarkets and diet itself.

In addition to this, strategies like aggressive advertising campaigns that have been
used by the industry in marketing these products should not be ignored since they mainly
target vulnerable groups like children (Costa et al., 2019). Ultra-processed foods’
consumptions are associated with a frightening range of adverse health effects that have been
widely documented in peer-review journals. Nardocci et al. (2018) evidenced that
consumption of these products is positively correlated with the incidence or presence of
chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular condition.

Industry market reports such as Technavio (2023) give the consumption pattern
analyses and forecasts of trends in these markets. These reports show the alarming growth of
the ultra-processed industry. The ultra-processed food market size is expected to grow 594.71
billion by the year 2028. The results emphasize the importance of preventive methods that
should be undertaken. Therefore, in order to eliminate this health crisis as the supply and
sales continue growing exponentially from one year to another new measures must be
implemented to help reduce the consumption of ultra-processed foods.

NGOs and think tanks are also in a position to carry out advocacy campaigns
supporting policy changes as well as informing people about matters related to food. The
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public discourse on nutrition and health has been further influenced by organizations such as
the World Health Organization (WHO) (2023) and International Agency for Research on
Cancer (IARC) (2021) which mentioned on the concern of ultra-processed foods on health.
Their studies and activism have also affected government policies, reinforced restaurant
practices leading to the betterment of food nutrition for a healthy lifestyle.

In addition, government policies form a significant role is determining the nature of

food contents since they have immense influence over consumer behavior. Thes measures
include sugar taxes, front-of package regulation and school food programs put in place by
countries aimed at promoting healthy eating behaviors to fight off ultra processed foods
(Berthold, 2023). These policies, although good by themselves and intended to achieve
results that would benefit the society in a whole, need some improvements concerning their
implementation.

The challenge of ultra-processed foods needs an approach that can only be achieved
by cooperation among organizations, government agencies, health professionals and
educators and also personally owned food businesses. We should look for ways of ensuring
that our communities are healthy and well nourished.

Yours sincerely,

Name, Nutritionist/CEO/Nurse etc

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References
1. Berthold, J. (2023, April 21). Sugary drink tax improves health, lowers health care
costs. UC Berkeley Public
Health. https://publichealth.berkeley.edu/news-media/research-highlights/sugary-
drink-tax-improves-health/
2. Brown, J. (2023, November 15). Which processed foods are better than
natural? BBC Breaking News, World News, US News, Sports, Business, Innovation,
Climate, Culture, Travel, Video &
Audio. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210521-which-processed-foods-are-
better-than-natural
3. Costa, C. S., Rauber, F., Leffa, P. S., Sangalli, C. N., Campagnolo, P. D. B., &
Vitolo, M. R. (2019). Ultra-processed food consumption and its effects on
anthropometric and glucose profile: A longitudinal study during
childhood. Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, 29(2), 177-184.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0939475318303314
4. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). (2021, September
6). Consumption of ultra-processed foods associated with weight gain and obesity in
adults: A multi-national cohort
study. mhttps://www.iarc.who.int/news-events/consumption-of-ultra-processed-
foods-associated-with-weight-gain-and-obesity-in-adults-a-multi-national-cohort-
study/
5. Nardocci, M., Leclerc, B. S., Louzada, M. L., Monteiro, C. A., Batal, M., &
Moubarac, J. C. (2019). Consumption of ultra-processed foods and obesity in
Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 110, 4-14.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.17269/s41997-018-0130-x
6. Technavio, H. (2023, December). Ultra processed food market analysis - US, China,
India, Germany, UK - Size and forecast 2024-2028. Market Research Reports -
Industry Analysis Size & Trends - Technavio.
https://www.technavio.com/report/ultra-processed-food-market-industry-analysis
7. World Health Organization (WHO). (2023, August 22). The growth of ultra-
processed foods in India: An analysis of trends, issues and policy recommendations.
https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/9789290210672
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