The health risks of ultra-processed foods

Ultra-processed foods contain ingredients that imitate real foods, usually through added salts, sugars, or oils. Ultra-processed foods often come ready to eat, such as pre-packaged soups and sauces, frozen pizzas, hot dogs, sodas, ice cream, and store-bought baked goods.

Currently, these foods make up a majority of people's diets in the United States. According to an analysis of federal data collected from 2001 to 2018, around 58% of calories consumed by U.S. adults and children ages one and older come from ultra-processed foods. For children ages two to 19, this number was even higher, reaching 67% in 2018.

In recent years, there has been a push against ultra-processed foods, especially as more research suggests that eating these foods can contribute to several health conditions.

For example, diets high in fat, sugar, and sodium have been associated with cardiovascular disease and other health conditions. Ultra-processed foods can also contribute to visceral fat forming around the organs and imbalances in the gut microbiome, which has been linked to type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Recent research has also linked eating ultra-processed foods to poor mood and cognitive decline, an increased risk of colorectal cancer, and an increased risk of premature death.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also pinpointed ultra-processed foods as a leading cause of chronic diseases in the United States, especially among children, in his Make America Healthy Again Commission report.

"We're unhealthy. The diet has a huge amount to do with that. We stopped smoking, we've got cholesterol drugs, we've got drugs to handle heart disease, hypertension and so forth, but the food is killing us," said Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina.

The 11 companies named in the lawsuit are Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, Post, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestle, Kellanova, Kellogg, Mars, and ConAgra.

"We have reached a tipping point in the scientific research about the harm of these products," Chiu said. "[T]hese products in our diets are deeply linked to serious health conditions, imposing enormous costs on millions of Americans and cities and states across our country."

"These companies engineered a public health crisis, they profited handsomely, and now they need to take responsibility for the harm they have caused," he added.

Gallo added that "[t]here is currently no agreed upon scientific definition of ultra-processed foods and attempting to classify foods as unhealthy simply because they are processed, or demonizing food by ignoring its full nutrient content, misleads consumers and exacerbates health disparities."

According to the New York Times, it's not clear how successful the lawsuit will be. In August, a federal judge in Philadelphia dismissed a private lawsuit over ultra-processed foods, saying that the plaintiff lacked specifics about the foods he had consumed and when.

However, San Francisco has had success with other lawsuits involving public health matters. The office previously won millions in settlements from tobacco companies, lead paint manufacturers, and opioid manufacturers.

"Anytime I see public actors like the city of San Francisco or state level attorneys interested in litigation, I'm encouraged, because that's how we got the attention of the tobacco companies back in the 1990s," said Laura Schmidt, a professor at the Institute for Health Policy Studies at University of California San Francisco.