9:30 am today

The nutritionist working out why we can't stop eating ultraprocessed foods

From Nine To Noon, 9:30 am today
Snack foods on a kitchen bench. Fruit sticks, chips and museli bars.

Snack foods on a kitchen bench. Fruit sticks, chips and museli bars. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

Why is it so hard to stop eating ultraprocessed foods once you've started?

A team of US researchers are trying to find out.

They've already found that weight gain from so-called unhealthy diets is less about the ingredients and more about the amount they've been processed.

A 2019 study found people eating processed foods were more likely to eat more.

Now the study is being repeated, and nutrition & metabolism scientist Kevin Hall is using it to work out what it is about those foods that makes people over-eat.