Ultra-Processed Foods: Impacts on Diet Quality, Health, Consumer Behavior, and Food Systems

The increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is reshaping global dietary patterns, with significant implications for diet quality, diversity, sustainability, and health. UPFs, according to the Nova food classification system, are industrial formulations typically rich in salt, sugar, and unhealthy fats, with cosmetic additives and little or no whole food content. Their widespread availability and convenience align with the demands of today’s fast-paced lifestyles, driving a shift towards ready-to-eat foods that are quick to prepare but nutritionally poor.

The modern consumer’s preference for convenience, influenced by busy schedules and limited cooking skills, has contributed to the rise of UPF consumption. Food marketing and attractive packaging/prices further enhance their appeal, often obscuring the health risks associated with high intake. Understanding food labeling remains a challenge for many consumers, who may be unaware of the true nutritional content of the products they purchase.

The increasing reliance on UPFs is also displacing traditional, culturally significant meals that are often more nutrient-dense and health-protective. This dietary shift threatens to undermine diet diversity, diet quality, and, in some cases, food security. While UPFs may appear to be an affordable option, they might contribute to long-term health costs, with growing evidence linking their consumption to obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and other chronic conditions.

In addition, cooking skills might play a crucial role in food choices, with lower levels of culinary proficiency often associated with higher UPF consumption. This relationship highlights the need for public health interventions focused on improving cooking skills across all genders and ages, as well as considering promoting traditional diets as a path toward healthier eating habits across the life cycle.

This Research Topic aims to elucidate the complex interactions between UPF consumption, dietary quality, consumer behavior, and health outcomes across the life course. We welcome contributions that explore diverse dimensions of these interactions, shedding light on their implications for individuals, communities, and society from all countries and regions around the world. We also encourage submissions from a wide range of disciplines, including nutrition, public health, psychology, sociology, health economics, and policy studies, to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and solutions.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of areas relevant to this Research Topic:
- Intervention studies assessing the dietary and health impacts of UPF consumption.

-Studies exploring the association between UPF consumption and diet quality, and health impacts, including mental health.

- Studies evaluating the mechanisms underlying the associations between UPF consumption and negative health outcomes.

- Health economic evaluations, assessing the economic impacts, burden of disease, and quality of life associated with UPF consumption.

- Research exploring the role of food marketing, packaging, pricing, and labeling in shaping consumer behavior.

- Studies investigating the hyper-palatability of UPFs, satiety mechanics signals, and their impacts on reward circuits and taste neural plasticity.

- Investigations into the association between cooking skills and UPF consumption.

- Discussions on the cultural implications of UPFs replacing traditional diets.

- Studies on the effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of policies aimed at reducing UPF consumption, such as taxation, warning labels, sales restrictions, and marketing limitations.

- Analyses of the links between UPFs, food security, and public health.

- Studies seeking to highlight gaps in current knowledge and identify potential avenues for future research and policy development.

- Research that explores the environmental impact of diets with high UPF consumption.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: UPFs, ultra-processed foods, diet, nutrition, health

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.