Experts Warn Ultraprocessed Foods Pose Major Global Health Risks, Call for Urgent Policy Action in Spain

An international panel of experts, including Professor Carlos Monteiro from the University of Sao Paulo and Spanish public health professor Maira Bes Rastrollo, has raised alarms about the health dangers linked to ultraprocessed foods, as highlighted in a comprehensive study published in The Lancet. This research, consolidating evidence from 104 long-term studies and 43 experts worldwide, reveals a global dietary shift toward cheap, highly processed foods associated with increased risks of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, depression, and higher all-cause mortality.

Maira Bes Rastrollo, a leading Spanish nutritional epidemiologist, stresses the urgency for Spain to adopt strong public health measures, such as taxing ultraprocessed foods and regulating advertising, especially targeting children. She underscores the potential of front-of-package warning labels to empower consumers to make informed choices. Despite Spain’s progress, like school food regulations, deeper policy changes are deemed necessary to curb consumption.

The study also acknowledges criticisms from some researchers who call for more definitive proof linking ultraprocessed foods to direct health damage and caution over the Nova classification system, which categorizes foods by processing levels but may overlook some products’ nutritional value. Nonetheless, the growing consensus calls for governments to implement clearer labeling and fiscal policies to make fresh, minimally processed foods more accessible and to counteract the influence of global corporations promoting unhealthy ultraprocessed products.

This emerging evidence highlights the urgent need for multisectoral approaches to reverse health trends driven by ultraprocessed food consumption worldwide and within Spain.