Last fall, Sam Srisatta, a 20-year-old college student from Florida, spent a month at a government hospital. He played video games and participated in a study on ultraprocessed foods. Those foods now make up over 70% of what Americans eat, raising questions about their health impacts.
During his stay, Sam tried everything from salads to chicken nuggets. “Today for lunch, I had chicken nuggets and chips,” he said with a smile. He, along with other participants, was paid $5,000 to help researchers gather data on these processed foods.
The study, led by Kevin Hall of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), aims to understand if ultraprocessed foods make people eat more calories, leading to weight gain and related health issues. Traditional dietary studies often rely on self-reported data, which can be unreliable. Hall’s approach uses constant monitoring, offering a clearer picture of participants’ eating habits.
As the U.S. grapples with rising obesity rates, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has focused on nutrition and disease prevention. He believes ultraprocessed foods are significant culprits for health issues, especially in children. During a recent Senate hearing, he emphasized the need to remove these foods from school lunches, claiming they are making kids unwell.
Ultraprocessed foods are usually high in sugar, fat, and sodium but low in nutritional value. They include many fast foods, sugary snacks, and ready-to-eat meals. Interestingly, research has shown that these foods may cause people to consume more calories than healthier options without them realizing it. A study in 2019 found that participants on an ultraprocessed diet ate around 500 extra calories daily compared to those on a healthier diet.
This new NIH study is testing theories about why ultraprocessed foods might lead to overeating. One idea is that they contain appealing combinations of fat, sugar, and salt that make us want more. Another is that these foods pack a lot of calories into small bites, tricking our brains into thinking we haven’t eaten enough.
For his month at the NIH, Sam wore multiple monitors to track his movements and submitted blood samples regularly. He spent time in a metabolic chamber designed to measure how his body processed food and energy. “It doesn’t feel that bad,” he said, reflecting on his unique experience.
He could eat as much or as little as he wanted, and meals were prepared specifically for the study. Dietitian Sara Turner said they aimed to ensure the meals were both nutritious and appetizing. While the results of the study aren’t published yet, early indications show that participants eating more palatable ultraprocessed foods consumed a thousand extra calories a day, leading to weight gain.
Dr. David Ludwig from Boston Children’s Hospital, however, critiques the short duration of these studies. He argues that brief periods of dietary changes might not reflect long-term eating habits. Ludwig has also suggested that the focus should be on the type of carbohydrates in processed foods rather than processing itself. He recommends longer and better-structured studies to get clearer results.
Concerns about the current study’s design are echoed by nutritionist Marion Nestle, who advocates for more funding to conduct more extensive and long-term research.
Interestingly, the NIH dedicates about $2 billion annually to nutrition research, which only accounts for 5% of its budget. However, due to budget cuts, the capacity for conducting such studies has decreased, limiting the number of participants that can be studied simultaneously.
Sam, who aspires to be an emergency room doctor, leaves the experience with a curiosity about the effects of processed foods. “Everyone knows it’s better to not eat processed foods,” he says. “But having evidence that people can understand easily is important.”
Experts like Jerold Mande, a former food policy advisor, echo the need for serious investment in nutrition studies to help tackle chronic diet-related diseases effectively. He has proposed creating better facilities to support rigorous research on how our diets affect health.
As more studies emerge, the conversation about ultraprocessed foods and their impacts is only growing. Understanding this issue is vital, given the alarming trends in obesity and related health problems in the U.S.
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