Ultra-Processed Foods Should Face Tobacco-Style Regulation, Researchers Say

Ultra-processed foods should be regulated more like cigarettes than food because they are engineered to encourage addiction and overconsumption, a new study argues.
Researchers from Harvard University, the University of Michigan and Duke University said UPFs share key traits with tobacco, including product design that targets reward pathways.
The study, published in Milbank Quarterly, links UPFs to widespread health harms and misleading “health-washing” marketing.
The authors urged governments to shift responsibility from consumers to the food industry using lessons from tobacco control.