The widespread consumption of ultra-processed food (UPF) has long been linked with a variety of diseases like obesity, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, type-2 diabetes and others.
Now a 21-page report by researchers at the Sapien Labs, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. on “a mission to understand and enable the human mind” – has linked UPF to depression and other mental illnesses – especially in wealthy countries like the US and the UK where the majority of calories consumed today come from UPF.
The study showed an improvement of depression symptoms, even after just three weeks of dietary change in those who regularly consume a diet of UPF. To examine how far reaching are the effects of UPF on mental health, the team looked at the self-reported frequency of UPF consumption and its relationship to the full breadth of mental health symptoms, plus an aggregate of mental wellbeing, in a global sample of almost 300,000 people.
The study, entitled “Consumption of ultra-processed food and mental wellbeing outcomes,” found that mental wellbeing decreases sharply with more frequent UPF consumption. The higher frequency of UPF consumption impacts all dimensions of mental function from adaptability and resilience to cognition, they warned. Depression symptoms and problems with cognitive and emotional control dominated with a higher frequency of UPF consumption.
Those who consume UPF several times a day are three times more likely to have serious mental health struggles compared to those who rarely or never do. While younger adults consume UPF more frequently, such eating has a similar impact on all age groups. Young adults 18 to 24 were found to have a dramatically worsened mental wellbeing and consume UPFs substantially more frequently compared to older age groups.
The decline in mental wellbeing with increased frequency of UPF consumption, they noted, can’t cannot be attributed to indirect effects of exercise frequency or income.
The key symptoms that got worse with increasing UPF consumption were appetite regulation, feelings of sadness, distress and hopelessness, as well as challenges with controlling thoughts and emotions such as unwanted thoughts and anger.
A global study
Among 26 countries compared, respondents in the Philippines, the US and the UK reported the highest consumption of UPF, while those in Egypt, Morocco, and Venezuela reported the lowest. Israel was not included in the study.
This study uses global data from 292,786 respondents aged 18 to 75+ obtained between January and August 2023 through the Global Mind Project. Data included an assessment that spanned 47 elements covering a wide range of symptoms and mental capabilities and provides aggregate scores of mental wellbeing and its dimensions.
The changes with increased UPF consumption are distinct from the negative effects of smartphones that we have previously reported and may be additive in nature
Altogether, the growing UPF consumption appears to progressively diminish the mental capabilities of the population. Furthermore, it is possible that UPFs are responsible for up to a third of the mental health burden in countries where UPF consumption is over half of calories consumed such as the US and UK, they wrote.
