Are ultra-processed foods really so bad?

Last week saw a flurry of media reports, of whose headlines one of the worst preceded one of the best reports. ‘Eating too many ultra-processed foods has been linked to a higher risk of early death,’ barked the Telegraph – but went on to explain carefully and fairly a ground-breaking report. Other broadsheets opted for the easy option: big report, ultra-processed food, death.

The report caught my eye because I’ve been consistently sceptical about sensationalist books and statements demonising in wholesale terms the consumption of foods categorised, in pseudo-scientific language, as ‘ultra-processed’. I question the usefulness of the category. Food-type blaming can be a comforting evasion of a simple truth: that overeating makes you fat and unhealthy. Instead, we’re told food manufacturers are to blame. Telling people that obesity and ill-health are somebody else’s fault sells books and newspaper articles.