Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are inescapable in society and they are the driver behind many major health problems like obesity. These foods comprise the majority of the food system and are in turn a problem of growing scale and complexity. The goal of this essay is to inform Americans about the consequences of consuming this food. As well it will detail how UPFs contribute to the obesity epidemic and highlight the true effects of GLP-1s when they are being used to treat obesity. Most importantly obese or overweight individuals in the United States need to see and understand this material to learn how they can safely combat their disease.
Firstly, it is important to understand what ultra-processed foods actually are and how they took over our diets. Under the NOVA classification UPFs are defined as formulations of ingredients mostly for industrial use only derived from a series of industrial processes (Askari et al.). This means foods are combined with synthetic and industrial purpose chemicals which leads to their classification as ultra-processed foods. For the last several years I have heard that the American food supply has gotten worse, as there is more unhealthy processed food which is less nutritious. A study looking at US adults from 2001 to 2018 reveals that Americans have steadily increased the amount of UPFs that they consume over that time period (Juul et al.). Because of the well researched connection between UPF consumption and chronic diseases the researchers advise the government should impose regulations to combat the issue. In addition they detailed that cheap minimally processed foods need to become more widely available. Together this two pronged approach could help curb the food epidemic America is currently facing because UPFs make up the vast majority of our daily consumed foods.
There is a strong positive association between this UPF consumption and the actual risk of obesity. Some detail that the NOVA classification is controversial because in its classification of UPFs it disregards the nutritional values of foods meaning NOVA misclassifies a large group of healthy foods as UPFs and vice versa (Temple). However, the research details that there is still a massive association between UPF consumption and the risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, common mental disorders such as depression, and all-cause mortality. A systematic review of 23 studies found that the highest UPF consumption was associated with a significant increase in the risk of overweight and obesity by exactly 39 percent (Askari et al.). Furthermore, the highest UPF consumption group was also associated with an increase in all-cause mortality in five separate studies. The researchers explained that the hyperpalatability and high energy density causes individuals who consume ultra-processed foods to often consume an excessive energy intake leading to both weight gain and severe obesity (Temple). They further detail that this results in UPFs being addictive in a very similar way to drugs. This finding is not shocking since these foods are engineered for overeating and high calorie density. As a result the study explains that UPFs do appear to play a major causal role in obesity. The relationship is clear and shows that simply most UPFs are both harmful and addictive which results in obesity or other major health issues.
Recently, Semaglutide which is sold under the names Ozempic and Wegovy has become the most popular weight loss drug to combat the obesity epidemic but its safety is concerning. When taken subcutaneously through injection it is highly effective and superior to other weight management medications referred to as WMMs because of higher body weight reduction than when taken orally (Singh et al.). A study of 3613 individuals who had obesity without diabetes observed that individuals taking subcutaneous injections experienced an 11.85% decrease in mean body weight compared to the placebo (Zhong et al.). Although as the dosage increased so did the frequency of adverse events and individuals taking Semaglutide experienced higher rates of gastrointestinal adverse events and serious adverse events at 1.59 and 1.6 times more than the placebo group. Individuals were twice as likely to discontinue treatment and serious adverse events were mainly pancreatitis or cholelithiasis while gastrointestinal issues included nausea and vomiting. The study concluded there was a statistically significant increase in lipase which causes pancreatic damage and raises concern for potential harm especially since it was only approved in 2021 meaning long term side effects are largely unknown (Singh et al.). Also these miracle drugs are not as amazing as they appear because people taking GLP-1s typically lose weight most rapidly in the first four to six months with weight plateauing nine to 18 months after starting treatment (Reddy). This is because the longer an individual takes the drug the greater the body's resistance is as the biological pressure to regain weight kicks in. Some doctors advise switching to Tirzepatide which is another GLP-1 offered at higher doses to find success. Telehealth companies like Ro advertise these as tools to jumpstart progress but doctors prescribe them for lifelong use ("Here’s What Happens"). Research showed 18 percent of US adults have taken a GLP-1 but about half stop within a year. When individuals inevitably stop taking them they often rapidly regain the lost weight and the rate of weight regain is four times higher than individuals who used other means of losing weight. Furthermore, cycling on and off GLP-1s causes metabolic adaptation and causes individuals to end up with more fat and less muscle at their starting weight because when losing weight as one-quarter to a third of the lost weight is muscle but when regaining weight, the majority is fat ("Here’s What Happens"). This makes the drug less effective each cycle. It seems the risk reward ratio only favors individuals who are severe to morbidly obese given the greater health impacts of extreme obesity. Given the largely unknown long term side effects and the fact that a one month supply costs around $500 the drug is highly inaccessible and definitely not a true miracle (Singh et al.).
Ultimately, these weight loss drugs are far from the miracle they have recently been hailed to be and they do not fix the root cause of the problem. Without use alongside other weight loss techniques like diets and exercise the WMMs are essentially useless. The real issue is the American food supply and how UPFs pervade our everyday lives. Americans need to be hyper focused on the foods they eat everyday considering UPFs comprise almost our entire food supply so hypervigilance is essential. Through this careful approach, individuals should be able to improve wellness through dieting and eating healthier if necessary. People can not rely on expensive medications that lose their edge and cause harmful side effects when the true solution is avoiding ultra-processed foods entirely and making smart informed decisions about what we put in our bodies.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32792031/ (Askari et al.)
https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/glp-1-weight-loss-drugs-stop-what-happens-162b6dd2 ("Here’s What Happens...")
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajcnut.2021.10.004 (Juul et al.)
https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/glp-1-weight-loss-drugs-rebound-93d8b8fd (Reddy)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1136/jim-2021-001952 (Singh et al.)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11643933/ (Temple)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9758543/ (Zhong et al.)