Overview
- A Florida Atlantic University analysis of NHANES 2021–2023 data on roughly 4,800 adults reports that the highest consumers of ultraprocessed foods had up to a 47% greater likelihood of prior heart attacks or strokes after adjusting for key factors.
- The study, published in The American Journal of Medicine, is observational and cross-sectional, so it identifies an association rather than proving causation.
- Ultraprocessed items—sugary drinks, packaged snacks, ready meals and processed meats—now account for more than 60% of U.S. adult calories and about 70% of children’s calories, according to the reporting.
- A separate analysis in The Milbank Quarterly by researchers from Harvard, Michigan and Duke argues these products are formulated to heighten reward responses through calibrated sugars, fats, sodium and sensory cues, drawing parallels to nicotine dosing in cigarettes.
- Authors and commentators call for measures such as targeted taxes, marketing limits and legal accountability, with FAU coauthor Charles H. Hennekens highlighting the need to counter strong industry influence.