General health warnings about ultra-processed foods are not enough

Touvier and colleagues highlight the importance of informing consumers about the health risks of consuming ultra-processed foods (UPFs).1 But relying on one-size-fits-all public policies to achieve this is unlikely to be enough. Information based health campaigns that make high cognitive demands can discriminate against some sectors of society.2 And advice to replace UPFs with healthy home cooking has little impact on those with poor cooking skills or those leading stressful lives who impulsively snack (a major dietary source of UPFs).3 For many, the precariousness of cooking cannot compete with the convenience and guaranteed taste of ready-to-eat UPFs.UPFs are a main daily pleasure for many of the electorate, so it’s not surprising that governments are wary of legislating against them. Many UPFs are tantamount to a 21st century “soma”: comforting, hedonistic, and sometimes addictive.4Instead of thinly spread, population-wide dietary advice, it can be more effective to focus on those moments when…
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