{"id":421823,"date":"2026-05-11T06:07:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T06:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/421823\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T06:07:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T06:07:11","slug":"junk-food-designed-to-make-us-eat-more-study-finds-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/421823\/","title":{"rendered":"Junk Food Designed To Make Us Eat More, Study Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday, 11 May 2026, 3:08 pm
Press Release: University of Auckland<\/a><\/p>\n

Ultraprocessed foods are designed and marketed in
\nways that encourage people to keep choosing them, despite
\nknowing they are unhealthy.<\/p>\n

A new University
\nof Auckland study finds companies making ultra-processed
\nfoods, often called junk food, design and market these
\nproducts to encourage people to eat more and more of
\nthem.<\/p>\n

Led by Dr Joshua Clark, the study reviewed ten
\nyears of international research to create detailed diagrams
\nshowing how these foods are formulated and
\npromoted.<\/p>\n

The diagrams were developed through group
\ndiscussions, repeated revisions and a two-day workshop with
\nexperts in food science, marketing and systems research. See
\nObesity
\nReviews<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we found were several reinforcing
\nfeedback loops, which all drive consumption and
\npurchasing,\u201d says Clark.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur biology and our
\nbehaviour are at the centre of this system, which goes some
\nway to explaining why, as populations, we are pretty hooked
\non these foods.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese UPF manufacturers are very
\nclever at this, because it makes them money.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is
\nlikely New Zealanders consume half of their diet as
\nultra-processed foods, in line with other developed
\ncountries, researchers say.<\/p>\n

A recent global report in
\nthe Lancet found ultra-processed foods are causing rising
\nrates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other
\nlong-term illnesses.<\/p>\n

Clark says New Zealand has many
\noptions to respond to this health threat.<\/p>\n

Advertisement – scroll to continue reading<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many
\ncountries have now implemented taxes on sugary food and
\ndrink, regulations on advertising to children, strong
\nfront-of-pack labelling programmes, as well as lobbying
\ntransparency policies that keep the political playing-field
\nfair.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have to be the trailblazers with
\nthis one, we just have to follow some of the great work and
\nleadership coming out of places like Latin
\nAmerica.\u201d<\/p>\n

Professor Boyd Swinburn, a population
\nnutrition researcher and co-author, says New Zealand has
\ndone nothing about its high intake of UPFs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHalf
\nthe world has taxes on sugary drinks but for some reason,
\npolitical timidity and fear of the UPF industry has meant
\nthat we have zero strategies in place to deal with our
\nepidemic of rising obesity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new study proposes
\nthat high consumption of ultra-processed food is not just
\nabout personal choice, but instead, the result of a system
\ncarefully designed to take advantage of how people think,
\nfeel and behave.<\/p>\n

The researchers found ultra-processed
\nfood companies use a combination of strategies,
\nincluding:<\/p>\n

ingredients such as sugar, fat and
\nsalt that drive cravingsusing people\u2019s online
\ndata to target advertisingcartoons and characters
\naimed at childrenstrong branding to build
\nloyaltyplacing outlets strategically, e.g., near
\nschools and in areas where there is already high UPF
\nconsumptionpositioning products in high-traffic
\nareas of storesprocessing methods that supress the
\nbody\u2019s natural feeling of fullness<\/p>\n

\u201cIt
\nisn\u2019t just one tactic, there are quite a few pieces that
\nare interconnected to increase our exposure to their
\nadvertising, to their products,\u201d says Clark.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen
\nthe foods are designed to be so convenient, so appealing and
\ngenerally the easier choice for many people, and all of
\nthis, when it’s interlinked, makes us really crave and
\nover-consume UPFs, and, unfortunately, experience the
\nnegative health effects from eating them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The
\nresearch highlights how people become trapped in this
\nsystem.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all hate to be manipulated by big
\nbusinesses,\u201d says Clark.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think shining a light
\non this is an opportunity to get people to care about it as
\nan issue and to ask, advocate, and demand for governmental
\npolicy action to disrupt this system and rebuild a food
\nenvironment that serves and nourishes us, not the balance
\nsheets of international corporations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senior author
\nDr Kelly Garton, a senior research fellow in the
\nUniversity\u2019s School of Population Health, says UPF
\ncompanies learned important lessons from the tobacco
\nindustry in the 1980s and 90s.<\/p>\n

Research
\n<\/a>shows US tobacco companies bought food and drink
\nbusinesses and used their knowledge of flavours and
\nchild-focused marketing to help develop sugary drinks and
\nproducts that combine salt, fat and sugar to trigger strong
\nreward responses in the brain. See BMJ<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Combined
\nwith chemical flavourings, these products became \u2018hyper
\npalatable<\/a>\u2019 and designed to be over-eaten. See Addiction<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There
\nis earlier evidence showing how heavily marketed these
\nproducts are in New Zealand, especially in ways that target
\nchildren, young people and parents. See Evidence
\nBrief<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What this research
\nadds<\/p>\n

Clark says the study identifies many
\nreinforcing feedback loops that keep consumption
\nhigh.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of these exploit parts of our human
\nbiology, psychology, behaviours and social patterns to drive
\npurchasing and consumption of their products.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur
\nsocial norms, daily routines, cultural practices, taste
\npreferences and even our brains\u2019 rewards systems have been
\ncaptured and conditioned as part of this system to make us
\ncrave and overconsume UPFs, meanwhile allowing the health
\nharms as collateral damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The authors call for
\nNew Zealand and other countries to implement policies
\nrecommended by the World Health Organization to reduce UPF
\nconsumption.<\/p>\n

What other countries have
\ndone<\/p>\n

\n\u00a9 Scoop Media<\/a>
\n
\n<\/p>\n

Using Scoop for work?<\/p>\n

Scoop is free for personal use, but you”ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.<\/p>\n

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