UPFs, if you’re wondering, tend to be things like fizzy drinks, breakfast cereals and sweets.<\/p>\n
A helpful way to know if something is a UPF is to check if it has anything in its ingredients you wouldn’t find in your kitchen cupboards, such as additives, emulsifiers or stabilisers, according to America’s Food Standards Agency<\/a>.<\/p>\n Researchers have previously linked the alarming increase in colorectal cancer<\/a> in under 50s to the increasing amount of ultraprocessed food in our diet.<\/p>\n Dr van Tulleken says UPFs shouldn’t even be classed as food, but ‘industrially processed edible substances’.<\/p>\n He said: “There is a decade of evidence now that is extremely clear that it is ultra-processed food that is responsible, not just for pandemic weight gain and obesity, but also for a long list of other health problems, including early death.”<\/p>\n The reason the medic is issuing this warning is extremely personal; he was previously addicted to UPFs himself.<\/p>\n Speaking on Steven Bartlett’s Diary of CEO podcast in 2023, he said: “I’m always on the brink of weight gain and I recognised in myself that I lived with an addiction to ultra-processed foods.”<\/p>\n His own experience – and that of his twin brother Xand, who he says has long struggled with obesity – convinced the doctor that we need to change the way we tackle health<\/a> problems around UPFs and start to treat it more like smoking<\/a>.<\/p>\n Why ‘willpower’ alone won’t help us combat unhealthy diets<\/p>\n Dr van Tulleken recalled taking Xand to a behavioural change therapist – but the specialist said it was him, more so than his brother, who needed to make a change.<\/p>\n He recalled the therapist telling him: “You are the problem. For your brother to lose weight will be to lose an argument that’s been a decade long with you. You are the barrier.”<\/p>\n That’s because Dr Van Tulleken was pushing his brother to take responsibility for making healthier choices to lose weight. He said: “We have really good evidence that these arguments around willpower and personal responsibility are morally, scientifically and economically redundant. They have no value.”<\/p>\n Instead, he wants us to start thinking about UPFs as an addictive substance in a similar way to how we talk about smoking.<\/p>\n He drew comparisons with how smoking is treated via nicotine patches, adding: “Treating it as an addictive substance may be really useful for some people.”<\/p>\n His advice to anyone addicted to UPFs? He said: “Don’t forbid this stuff. Let yourself wallow in it and read the ingredients list while you eat.<\/p>\n “You’ll realise all the food has the same flavour profile. It’s equally salty and sugary and sweet. It’s all acidic. And you will gradually become disgusted.”<\/p>\n What are studies saying about ultra processed foods?<\/p>\n Van Tulleken’s claims are backed up by a number of studies which associate UPFs with many health conditions including obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and bowel cancer.<\/p>\n A 2024 study from the National Library of Medicine found: “High UPF consumption is associated with an increased risk of a variety of chronic diseases and mental health disorders.<\/p>\n “At present, not a single study reported an association between UPF intake and a beneficial health outcome. These findings suggest that dietary patterns with low consumption of UPFs may render broad public health benefits.”<\/p>\n![\"Dr](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/aHR0cHM6Ly9ldS1pbWFnZXMuY29udGVudHN0YWNrLmNvbS92My9hc3NldHMvYmx0Y2Q3NGFjYzFkMGE5OWYzYS9ibHQ1MjIzNWQ2.webp\"\/)
Dr Chris Van Tulleken has issued a warning (YouTube\/Diary of a CEO)<\/p>\n![\"Some](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/aHR0cHM6Ly9ldS1pbWFnZXMuY29udGVudHN0YWNrLmNvbS92My9hc3NldHMvYmx0Y2Q3NGFjYzFkMGE5OWYzYS9ibHQ0YzVmMzJh.webp\"\/)
Some examples of ultra-processed foods (Getty Stock Images)<\/p>\n