Chadha Muskan, Shukla Ratnakar, Kumar Tiwari Rohit, Kumar Dubey Dharmendra, Singh Karuna
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Sharda School of Allied Health Sciences, Sharda University, Greater Noida, 201310, India.
Department of Clinical Research, Sharda School of Allied Health Sciences, Sharda University, Greater Noida, 201310, India.
Recent Adv Food Nutr Agric. 2024 Oct 14. doi: 10.2174/012772574X327683240910063234.
Excessive consumption of ultra-processed food (UPF) is a global health concern as-sociated with an increased incidence of non-communicable diseases. UPFs are characterized by their extensive industrial processing and high content of additives, preservatives, chemicals, and artificial ingredients that are used to mask defects or inferior ingredients of end food products, presenting a multifaceted challenge to contemporary society. Exposure assessment showed that almost 50% to 30% of the energy consumption per day comes from UPFs. The more processed a food is, the less likely it is to be healthy and nutritious. UPFs affect human health by increasing the risk of obesity, heart disease, cancer, depression, diabetes, etc., as these foods are typically made up of a large number of preservatives, high content of fats, sodium, and sugars, and low contents of protein, fiber, and potassium. The ingredients required for the production of UPFs are commonly derived from intensive monoculture and livestock of raw foods. This, in turn, exerts imminent effects on agriculture, biodiversity, and the global food system by altering the bioavailability of nutrients within agricultural soil, thereby increasing the dependency on ferti-lizers and insecticides. Recent studies have shown that over-consumption of UPF has an effect on culinary traditions, loss of biodiversity, human well-being, and food system sustainability. Therefore, for better food system sustainability, the consumption of UPFs should be reduced, and we should move toward minimal processing technologies, preferably for seasonal and or-ganic local products. Based on available data, there is an urgent need to implement policies and regulations for the agro-food industry to include nutritional and environmental criteria. This review explains the different dimensions of UPFs in relation to health, nutrition, environment, current challenges, future innovations, and wider sustainability concerns.
过度食用超加工食品（UPF）是一个全球健康问题，与非传染性疾病发病率的上升有关。UPF的特点是经过广泛的工业加工，含有大量添加剂、防腐剂、化学物质和人工成分，这些成分用于掩盖最终食品产品的缺陷或劣质成分，给当代社会带来了多方面的挑战。暴露评估显示，每天近50%至30%的能量消耗来自UPF。食品加工程度越高，其健康和营养的可能性就越小。UPF通过增加肥胖、心脏病、癌症、抑郁症、糖尿病等疾病的风险来影响人类健康，因为这些食品通常含有大量防腐剂、高脂肪、高钠和高糖，而蛋白质、纤维和钾的含量较低。生产UPF所需的成分通常来自集约化单一栽培和生食家畜养殖。这反过来又通过改变农业土壤中养分的生物有效性，对农业、生物多样性和全球粮食系统产生直接影响，从而增加对化肥和杀虫剂的依赖。最近的研究表明，过度消费UPF会对烹饪传统、生物多样性丧失、人类福祉和粮食系统可持续性产生影响。因此，为了实现更好的粮食系统可持续性，应减少UPF的消费，我们应转向最少加工技术，最好是针对季节性和有机本地产品。根据现有数据，迫切需要为农业食品行业实施政策和法规，纳入营养和环境标准。这篇综述解释了UPF在健康、营养、环境、当前挑战、未来创新以及更广泛的可持续性问题等方面的不同维度。
