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It is preemptive to question recommendations to limit ultra-processed foods

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 79, pages 604–605 (2025)Cite this article

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Comment on: Visioli, F., Del Rio, D., Fogliano, V., Marangoni, F., Ricci, C. & Poli, A. (In Press) UPFs and health: are we correctly interpreting the available evidence? European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

In the recent article by Visioli and colleagues [1] they question the broad impact of ultra-processed foods (UPF) on health outcomes. The authors contend that there is limited evidence pertaining to the causal association between the consumption of UPFs and certain adverse health outcomes specifically, cardiovascular disease (CVD), type II diabetes (T2D), and cancer due to the observational basis of the research and methodological issues [1]. The authors conclude that ultra processing may not be the ‘culprit.’ Instead, the food additives added to some of these products may be the root of the problem. Thus, they question the scientific validity of recommendations to limit and/or avoid UPFs [1].

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Northfields Ave, NSW, 2522, Australia

    Shae-Leigh Vella & Nagesh Pai

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  1. Shae-Leigh Vella
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  2. Nagesh Pai
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SV wrote the correspondence and NP reviewed the correspondence.

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Correspondence to Shae-Leigh Vella.

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Vella, SL., Pai, N. It is preemptive to question recommendations to limit ultra-processed foods. Eur J Clin Nutr 79, 604–605 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-025-01606-0

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