In this Comment, we critically examine the association between the increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods and their negative effect on cardiovascular health. We explore the historical evolution of food processing, the Nova food classification and the epidemiological evidence, and highlight the need for urgent public health interventions.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Monteiro, C. A. et al. Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them. Public Health Nutr. 22, 936–941 (2019).
Baker, P. et al. Ultra-processed foods and the nutrition transition: global, regional and national trends, food systems transformations and political economy drivers. Obes. Rev. 21, e13126 (2020).
Touvier, M. et al. Ultra-processed foods and cardiometabolic health: public health policies to reduce consumption cannot wait. BMJ 383, e075294 (2023).
Costa de Miranda, R., Rauber, F. & Levy, R. B. Impact of ultra-processed food consumption on metabolic health. Curr. Opin. Lipidol. 32, 24–37 (2021).
Martini, D., Godos, J., Bonaccio, M., Vitaglione, P. & Grosso, G. Ultra-processed foods and nutritional dietary profile: a meta-analysis of nationally representative samples. Nutrients 13, 3390 (2021).
Neri, D. et al. Ultraprocessed food consumption and dietary nutrient profiles associated with obesity: a multicountry study of children and adolescents. Obes. Rev. 23 (Suppl 1), e13387 (2022).
Martínez Steele, E. & Monteiro, C. A. Association between dietary share of ultra-processed foods and urinary concentrations of phytoestrogens in the US. Nutrients 9, 209 (2017).
Juul, F., Vaidean, G. & Parekh, N. Ultra-processed foods and cardiovascular diseases: potential mechanisms of action. Adv. Nutr. 12, 1673–1680 (2021).
Srour, B. et al. Ultra-processed foods and human health: from epidemiological evidence to mechanistic insights. Lancet Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 7, 1128–1140 (2022).
Moodie, R. et al. Ultra-processed profits: the political economy of countering the global spread of ultra-processed foods - a synthesis review on the market and political practices of transnational food corporations and strategic public health responses. Int. J. Health Policy Manag. 10, 968–982 (2021).
Acknowledgements
The authors thank C. Augusto Monteiro (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil) for inspiring the concept for the figure used in this Comment. The authors received grant support from the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF UK IIG_FULL_2020_033).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rauber, F., Levy, R.B. Ultra-processed foods and cardiovascular disease. Nat Rev Cardiol 21, 213–214 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-024-00990-7
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-024-00990-7