Ultra-processed food: Wetin e be, e dey bad for you? - BBC News Pidgin (2024)

14 June 2024

Ultra-processed foods dey linked to more dan 30 different health problems, including heart disease, cancer and anxiety.

One new university study say vegan ultra-processed food fit also dey harmful to health.

Ultra-processed foods dey make up more dan 50% of di average diet for US and UK, and e don dey popular around di world.

Wetin be ultra-processed food?

E no get one particular definition of wetin ultra-processed foods be, but in general dem dey get ingredients inside dem wey dem no dey use for home cooking.

Many of dem na chemicals, colourings and sweeteners wey dem dey use to improve di food appearance, taste or texture.

Fizzy drinks, sweets and chicken nuggets na di typical examples. However, e fit dey for some less obvious foods, including some breads, breakfast cereals and yoghurts.

How ultra-processed foods different from processed foods?

To help pipo identify different types of food, e get one system wey dey divide dem into four groups wey we dey use well-well.

Na unprocessed and minimally processed foods; processed ingredients; processed foods and ultra-processed foods.

Processed foods na di combination of whole foods - like fruits, vegetables, nuts and eggs - and processed culinary ingredients.

For example, bread wey dem make from wheat flour, water, salt and yeast na processed food.

However, if dem add emulsifiers, colourings or preservatives , di bread go fall under ultra-processed.

How you fit recognise ultra-processed food?

Product wey contain more dan five ingredients dey likely to fall under ultra-processed, according to public health expert Prof Maira Bes-Rastrollo of di University of Navarra for Spain.

Ultra-processed foods often dey high in salt, sugar and saturated fats. for UK and some oda kontris dem go write am for di packet.

E fit be "fresh food" but e geta long shelf life, sake of di preservatives. Check di labels for ingredients like sodium benzoate, nitrate and sulphite, BHA and BHT.

How ultra-processed food dey spread around di world?

Na pipo for UK and US dey eat ultra-processed food pass, according to di British Medical Journal and di US National Center for Biotechnology Information.

For 2023, dem reach 58% of di average US adult's calorie intake, and 66% for pikin.

Di figures dem na 57% and 65% for UK adults and children.

Di US National Center for Biotechnology Information say Asian kontris like South Korea and Japan, and for South American kontris like Brazil and Chile, ultra-processed food typically dey account for 20 - 30% of pipo calories. For South Africa, di figure na 39%.

To eat ultra-processed food bad ?

No clear evidence about di health impact of eating ultra-processed food.

One February 2024 study for British Medical Journal - based on information about 9.9 million people worldwide - link am to:

a higher risk of death from cardiovascular sickness dem (like heart attack and stroke)

However, di study bin no fit prove say na processing di food cause di sickness.

E fit be say na becos di foods dey high in fat, sugar and salt, wey dey cause weight gain, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

Obesity

"Weight gain na di first and most obvious effect of eating ultra-processed food," na so Chris van Tulleken, wey be immunologist from University College London tok, wey also don write about nutrition.

"Dis foods already dey high in fat, salt and sugar. But dem also dey designed - through dia textures, colours and flavours - to eat am in excess."

One February 2024 study by Imperial College London say by 2022, more than one billion pipo around di world go dey live wit obesity - e dey equivalent to one in every eight pesin.

E say between 1992 and 2022, the global obesity rate don double for adult women, nearly triple for adult men, and increased five-fold for children and adolescents.

Di most recent data from World Health Organization (WHO) and di Global Health Observatory, from 2016, say more dan 28% of adults for Americas dey obese, as against 26% for Europe, 19% for Eastern Mediterranean and 9% for Africa.

WHO say by 2016, 2.8 billion pipo go die evri year becos dem dey overweight or obese.

"For many kontris for die world, ultra-processed food now dey more affordable, and more accessible, dan di traditional whole foods for markets," na so Dr Claire Johnson, one nutrition specialist for UN agency for children, Unicef.

Diabetes

More pipo worldwide now get type 2 diabetes, according to di International Diabetes Federation.

"Di sugar, salt and fat for ultra-processed food all na risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes - as well as diet wey high for calories and low for nutrients too," na so Jaakko Tammilehto, a professor of public health for University of Helsinki.

Di Middle East and North Africa in particular don see a high increase for di number of pipo wit type 2 diabetes.

"Many of dis kontris no dey produce food themselves," Prof Tammilehto tok. "Ultra-processed food dey easy to transport and store. Na di food companies dey send well-well"

Malnutrition

Ultra-processed food dey contribute to malnutrition for many sub-Saharan nations, na so Dr Johnson tok.

"E dey often lack di micronutrients wey dey for additional whole foods, like iron, minerals and vitamins," she add put.

However, scientists for Purdue University for US say ultra-processed foods fit get some benefits, wey include:

providing nutrients like vitamin E and calcium

offering a more affordable option than fresh food for people on low incomes

reducing food wastage and di risk of food poisoning

Di British Nutrition Foundation,wey dey work with and takes donations from food companies, also tok say di ultra-processed foods deyequal.

"Some foods that can be classified as ultra-processed, such as wholegrain breakfast cereals, wholemeal breads and low-fat yogurts can be lower in fat, salt and sugar," na so say Sara Stanner tok, dia science director. "Na you be sources of essential nutrients and fibre."

Heart disease

One June 2024 study from Sao Paolo University and Imperial College London suggests say plant-based ultra-processed food fit also be threat to health.

E say to eat ultra-processed plant-based foods dey linked wit a 7% increase for di risk of diseases such as heart attacks and strokes, compared wit eating unprocessed plant-based foods.

Which action dem don take against ultra-processed foods?

Di UK goment put one levy on sugary drinks for 2018, and several manufacturers cut sugar levels in response.

For 2023, Colombia bin impose a levy of 10% - wey go increase ova time - on sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods.

For 2016, Chile - wey get some of di highest child obesity rates for di world - put warning labels on foods wey dey high in sugar, fats or calories.

E also restrict di advertising and promotion of food to children wey dey high in sugar, salt and calories.

However, four years afta dem introduce di measures , child obesity rates continue to rise.