How worried should we be about ultra-processed foods?
Unless you’re growing all your own food, you’re eating processed foods. But what exactly are ultra-processed foods — and why is everyone freaking out about them? What experts want you to consider…and calm down about.
Unless you’re plucking a tomato off of a plant in your backyard and taking a big bite, you’re eating some level of processed food, says New York City-based registered dietitian Nicole Rodriguez, RDN. That might include chopping, canning, or drying, for example. But some foods get the processing treatment more than others, and these fall into the category of ultra-processed foods. But what counts as one, and what effect do they have on our health?
What are ultra-processed foods?
UPFs are anything that’s been highly modified from its original, whole form — and include an ingredient that is never or rarely used in a home kitchen, like dyes, emulsifiers, high-fructose corn syrup, or stabilizers. The grocery store is full of UPFs, including cereals, candy, instant soup, margarine, meal replacement shakes and powders, packaged breads and snacks like chips and crackers, sausages and hot dogs, soda, sweetened yogurt, and more.
What's the problem with ultra-processed foods?
They can seriously impact health
UPFs are associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease and stroke, overall mortality, type 2 diabetes, anxiety, and depression. Some of their additives may also disrupt our gut health and promote inflammation.
They can cause weight gain
They tend to be higher in calories, saturated fat, added sugar, and sodium, yet be lower in fiber and protein, two nutrients that help us feel full. They could promote obesity, since getting a higher percentage of calories in your diet from ultra-processed foods is linked to weight gain. Cutting them is linked to weight loss: In a recent study, participants lost twice as much weight on a minimally processed diet as the same participants did when they ate a diet high in UPFs, possibly because minimally processed foods tend to have fewer calories per bite.
They’re everywhere
UPFs are ubiquitous both in our environment and in our diets; about 70% of the U.S. food supply is made up of UPFs.
So do I need to cut out ultra-processed foods?
You don’t have to completely shut them out of your life, but experts do recommend cutting back on the UPFs you’re eating. (Some healthier UPFs that may support weight loss include liquid egg whites, shredded cheese, instant oatmeal, whole wheat bread, and flavored yogurt.)
An important thing to consider is that if we’re eating more UPFs, we have less room for fruits and veggies, two types of foods that are high in volume and fiber and low in calories, and have been linked to weight loss.
“When we’re too dependent on ultra-processed foods being the staple in our diets, they’re likely displacing foods that are more nutrient-dense,” says Rodriguez. If you grab a packaged muffin for breakfast or fast food for lunch, then you likely don’t have a big capacity for much else in those meals.
When you can, do UPF swap-outs: for example, rather than choosing a strawberry-flavored sweetened yogurt, choose plain, fat-free Greek yogurt and add chopped strawberries. If you’re going to have a UPF, try to combine it with a whole food — if you’re having a frozen pizza for dinner, serve it with a fresh spinach salad.
Being a Weight Watchers member can help. Members in one study reduced their calories from UPFs by 29% after six months.*
*Based on a secondary analysis of Palacios et al. 2025, a 6-month randomized controlled trial (n=376 adults) that compared participants following WW to those given standard nutritional guidelines alone. Manuscript in draft. Funded by WW International, Inc.