Ultra-Processed Foods and Chronic Diseases: Mechanistic Insights, Clinical Outcomes, and Public Health Implications

In recent decades, global dietary patterns have undergone a profound transition characterized by a marked increase in the consumption of processed and ultra-processed foods (UPFs). This shift has substantially degraded overall diet quality, replacing nutrient-dense whole foods with hyper-palatable products rich in refined sugars, unhealthy fats, and sodium. Beyond poor nutrient profiles, ultra-processing alters the physical food matrix and introduces diverse industrial additives, emulsifiers, and neo-formed contaminants. Accumulating evidence indicates that these components disrupt gut microbiota homeostasis, impair intestinal barrier function, and alter metabolic and appetite-regulating neuroendocrine pathways, including dysfunction in insulin sensitivity, lipid homeostasis, and satiety signaling (e.g., GLP-1, PYY, ghrelin). Consequently, industrial food processing has emerged as an independent risk factor for chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), intersecting with established lifestyle factors such as physical inactivity, tobacco use, and chronic stress.

Despite growing epidemiological associations, critical knowledge gaps remain regarding the precise mechanisms, causality, and real-world public health strategies needed to mitigate these risks. This Research Topic aims to advance the scientific debate on the intersection between ultra-processed foods and chronic diseases. We invite high-quality submissions focusing on:

• Mechanistic insights and multi-organ outcomes: systematic reviews, meta-analyses, prospective cohorts, and RCTs evaluating the direct impact of UPFs on metabolic, hepatic (MASLD/cirrhosis), renal (CKD progression), and neurodegenerative/cognitive outcomes, particularly studies isolating processing effects from nutrient composition.
• Dietary assessment and methodological tools: development and validation of dietary evaluation protocols to identify UPF intake patterns in both clinical cohorts and general populations.
• Public health and behavioral interventions: Studies exploring the interplay between UPF consumption and food insecurity, as well as feasible, scalable intervention strategies to foster sustainable dietary behavior changes and inform public policy.

Article types and fees

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

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

Keywords: Ultra-Processed Foods, Diet Quality, Gut Microbiota, Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases, Metabolic Health, Food Additives, Dietary Assessment, Public Health Interventions

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.