Ultra-processed dga: building healthy dietary patterns with ultra-processed foods

Authors: Hess, Julie

Submitted to: Institute of Food Technologists
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2023
Publication Date: 7/18/2023
Citation: Hess, J.M. 2023. Ultra-processed dga: building healthy dietary patterns with ultra-processed foods. Institute of Food Technologists meeting, Chicago, IL.

Interpretive Summary: Ultra-processed foods and their impact on health is one topic that the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) Scientific Advisory Committee will be discussing. This session highlighted results of a recent study that shows that healthy dietary patterns from the 2020 DGA can include most of their energy from ultra-processed foods and still receive a high diet quality score and contain adequate amounts of most macro- and micronutrients.

Technical Abstract: There is much debate in the nutrition and food science communities regarding processed foods, especially ultra-processed foods, and their impact on health. Dietary guidance in other countries including Brazil and Israel encourage avoiding ultra-processed foods, and this topic is currently under consideration by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans as well. However, processing has historically been essential to food preservation, which helps ensure adequate nutrition even during times of scarcity. Food processing has also contributed to significant public health achievements, such as the decreased incidence of neural tube defects in the U.S. following the mandatory fortification of refined grain products with folic acid in 1998. Ultra-processed foods have been described as a potential cause of obesity and other chronic diseases in the U.S. However, there is not a clear definition for what an “ultra-processed food” is. The most commonly applied framework for determining whether a food is “ultra-processed” is called NOVA (not an acronym). NOVA categorizes foods by their level of processing on a scale from 1 to 4, where “1” indicates an unprocessed/minimally processed food and “4” indicates an “ultra-processed” food. Yet several nutrient-dense foods like sweetened yogurt and whole grain breads are considered “ultra-processed” per NOVA. Additionally, results of a recent study indicate that it is possible to follow a dietary pattern that aligns with recommendations from the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans while consuming mostly ultra-processed foods. With the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Scientific Advisory Review process beginning in 2023, this timely session addressed the complexity of the “ultra-processed” foods debate by providing background for food scientists regarding both the current status of proposed definitions for ultra-processed foods and emerging nutrition science evidence on this topic.