The Correlation Between Processed Foods And Obesity

𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙍𝙤𝙣 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣-

𝘼𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙜, 𝙄 𝙃𝘼𝙏𝙀 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙞𝙣 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖. 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩. 𝙂𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩? 𝙊𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙪𝙡𝙩. 𝙎𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙬𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙨— 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙧𝙪𝙜.

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙨𝙪𝙜𝙖𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨 𝙀𝙓𝘼𝘾𝙏𝙇𝙔 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙙𝙧𝙪𝙜!

𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙨𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙅𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙅 𝘿𝙞𝙉𝙞𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙅𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙃 𝙊’𝙆𝙚𝙚𝙛𝙚, 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙎𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙇𝙪𝙠𝙚’𝙨 𝙈𝙞𝙙 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙄𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙆𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙖𝙨, 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙢 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙨𝙤𝙣 – 𝙖 𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙣𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙞𝙩 𝙐𝙎 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝, 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩, “𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙪𝙜𝙖𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚, 𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙙, 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙪𝙜𝙖𝙧,” 𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙜𝙖𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙡.

𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙪𝙜𝙖𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙜. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙨? 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙬 𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙛𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙭𝙞𝙙𝙚, 𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙪𝙢 𝙗𝙞𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙚, 𝙨𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙪𝙢 𝙗𝙞𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙚, 𝙨𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙪𝙢 𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙨𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙪𝙢 𝙜𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙛, 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙪𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢? 𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙉𝙊 𝙒𝘼𝙔!

𝙄𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩, 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝘿𝘼𝙄𝙇𝙔!

𝘼𝙨 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙨, 𝙬𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨. 𝙒𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙪𝙢 𝙜𝙖𝙨, 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙤𝙞𝙡 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨, 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙖 𝙘𝙖𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙝 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙. 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙? 𝘼 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙗𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙜𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙢.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙩! 𝙒𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩. 𝙒𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙨𝙖𝙬 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 — 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣, 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 — 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙖 𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙪𝙣𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙮𝙘𝙡𝙚. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙮? 𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙧𝙪𝙜 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚, 𝙨𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙪𝙣𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙮, 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙟𝙪𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙚𝙨.

𝙇𝙀𝙏 𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙎 𝘽𝙀 𝙁𝙊𝙊𝘿 𝙁𝙊𝙍 𝙏𝙃𝙊𝙐𝙂𝙃𝙏!

𝙋𝙇𝙀𝘼𝙎𝙀 𝙍𝙀𝘼𝘿 𝙊𝙉 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝙇𝙀𝘼𝙍𝙉 𝙈𝙊𝙍𝙀.

As food consumed in the U.S. becomes more and more processed, obesity may become more prevalent. Through reviewing overall trends in food, George Washington University (GW) researcher Leigh A. Frame, PhD, MHS, concluded that detailed recommendations to improve diet quality and overall nutrition are needed for consumers, who are prioritizing food that is cheaper and more convenient, but also highly processed. Her conclusions are published in a review article in Current Treatment Options in Gastroenterology.

"When comparing the U.S. diet to the diet of those who live in "blue zones" -- areas with populations living to age 100 without chronic disease -- the differences are stark," said Frame, co-author of the article, program director for the Integrative Medicine Programs, executive director of the Office of Integrative Medicine and Health, and assistant professor of clinical research and leadership at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. "Many of the food trends we reviewed are tied directly to a fast-paced U.S. lifestyle that contributes to the obesity epidemic we are now facing."

The rising obesity epidemic in the U.S., as well as related chronic diseases, are correlated with a rise in ultra-processed food consumption. The foods most associated with weight gain include potato chips, sugar sweetened beverages, sweets and desserts, refined grains, red meats, and processed meats, while lower weight gain or even weight loss is associated with whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Other food trends outlined in the report include insufficient dietary fiber intake, a dramatic increase in food additives like emulsifiers and gums, and a higher prevalence of obesity, particularly in women.

In mice and in vitro trials, emulsifiers, found in processed foods, have been found to alter microbiome compositions, elevate fasting blood glucose, cause hyperphagia, increase weight gain and adiposity, and induce hepatic steatosis. Recent human trials have linked ultra-processed foods to decreased satiety (fullness), increased meal eating rates (speed), worsening biochemical markers, including inflammation and cholesterol, and more weight gain. In contrast, populations with low meat, high fiber, and minimally processed foods -- the "blue zones" -- have far less chronic diseases, obesity rates, and live longer disease-free.

"Rather than solely treating the symptoms of obesity and related diseases with medication, we need to include efforts to use food as medicine," said Frame. "Chronic disease in later years is not predestined, but heavily influenced by lifestyle and diet. Decreasing obesity and chronic disease in the U.S. will require limiting processed foods and increasing intake of whole vegetables, legumes, nuts, fruits, and water. Health care providers must also emphasize lifestyle medicine, moving beyond 'a pill for an ill.' "

Source: George Washington University. January 6, 2020.