Ultra-processed foods dangerous part of Western diet

To the Editor:

Every year, Oct. 16 is celebrated as “World Food Day.” It is on this day in 1945 that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations was founded with belief that it can coordinate countries with the goal to achieve freedom from want of food, suitable and adequate for the health and strength of all people.

“Our actions are our future — better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life” was the theme for 2021 World Food Day. Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) include frozen meals, soft drinks, fast foods and packaged snacks. They have high levels of fats, salts, starches, and sugars. Artificial colors, flavors and stabilizers are added to them during processing.

A two-decade study conducted from 1999 to 2018 in U.S. population ages 2-19 years identified that the consumption of UPFs has significantly increased. Another independent research study identified that the prevalence of metabolic diseases including elevated waist circumference, elevated triglycerides, reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes has risen by 35% in U.S. adults during 1998 through 2012.

Though these two studies are independent of each other; one can understand the cause and effect relationship between them both. Consumption of Western diet has been shown to make primates more anxious and less socially integrated when compared to that of the Mediterranean diet.

Now, it is time for us to reflect on the current food practices and potential impact it can make on our health and aim to develop a sustainable future.

— Balasubramani Paranthaman

Albany