Health effects of highly processed foods

Type 2 diabetes and diet: when the ready-made snack ruins the metabolism

31-Oct-2023

Anyone dealing with type 2 diabetes cannot avoid the topic of nutrition - after all, a diet that is too rich and not very balanced is considered one of the main risk factors for the development of the metabolic disease. highly processed foods are particularly problematic: they often contain too much sugar, fat and salt and should therefore only be consumed with great restraint. Why they enjoy nevertheless large popularity, which health consequences have that and which would have to be done also from political side against it, will be one of the topics, which experts of the German diabetes society (DDG) and the German society for nourishing medicine (DGEM) in the apron of the diabetes autumn conference discuss.

Pizzas, bagged soups, snacks, soft drinks or sweets - supermarkets in Western industrialized nations are filled with fast food and convenience products. They have a long shelf life, can be prepared with little effort or even enjoyed straight from the pack, taste consistently good and are also intensively advertised. "Around half of the calories consumed in Germany now come from highly processed foods," says Professor Dr. oec. troph. Dr. med. Anja Bosy-Westphal, vice dean at the Faculty of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences at Christian Albrechts University in Kiel and conference president of the DGEM. The widespread consumption of these products has contributed to the abolition of traditional diets and meal structures, so that today people often eat very irregularly and sometimes until late in the evening.

But it is not only the lack of a fixed daily rhythm that can become a problem for health. Above all, the composition of fast food causes problems for the body. "Many highly processed products contain a lot of sugar, fat and salt or quickly available carbohydrates," says Bosy-Westphal. These appeal to the reward system in the brain and ensure that the preference for sweet and at the same time fatty food becomes more and more entrenched.

Another unfavorable characteristic of most highly processed foods is their high energy density. The products in question are therefore not only available very quickly and without any kitchen effort - the consumer has also already consumed a great many calories in just a few bites. "To make matters worse, the products often have a consistency that does not encourage chewing," adds Bosy-Westphal. Therefore, they are automatically consumed more quickly. By the time the feeling of satiety can set in, the calorie account is already clearly overdrawn.

The consequences of the permanent temptation are clearly visible: Over 50 percent of adults in Germany are overweight, and one in five even has obesity. The corresponding figures for children and young people are also alarmingly high, at around ten and six percent respectively. By contrast, the biological connections underlying the link between the trend toward quick snacking and the mass phenomenon of obesity are only slowly being understood. "Regular consumption of highly processed foods leads in the medium term to metabolic disorders, such as insensitivity to the hormones insulin and leptin, and to chronic inflammation," says nutrition expert Bosy-Westphal, summarizing the current state of research. The biological control of appetite is also impaired. With these changes, the path toward type 2 diabetes has already been taken, and it is difficult for many of those affected to leave it again under their own steam.

The DDG and DGEM would therefore like to see an intensified social discourse on the subject of nutrition, with the aim of even broader education. However, because knowledge about a healthy diet alone is obviously not enough, the discussion about an improved ratio prevention must also be led anew, according to the professional societies. This would address the framework conditions that influence consumer behavior - and would be an important instrument, for example, to make it easier to reach for healthy food. "Policymakers have several levers at their disposal here, which they have so far used only inadequately," Bosy-Westphal emphasizes. These range from consumer-friendly food labeling and advertising restrictions for unhealthy products, especially with regard to vulnerable target groups, to higher taxes on sugary soft drinks, for example, and tax breaks for fruit and vegetables.

Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.

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