Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Its Association with Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease: A Narrative Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37253/nurish.v1i2.12445Keywords:
cardiovascular disease, non-communicable disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, ultra-processed foodAbstract
Background: The global food supply has shifted markedly toward industrially formulated, ready-to-eat products classified as ultra-processed foods (UPF) under the NOVA system. Concurrently, the burden of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to rise in both high-income and low- and middle-income countries, including Indonesia. This narrative review synthesizes current epidemiological and experimental evidence on the association between UPF consumption and the incidence of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and CVD, and examines the underlying biological mechanisms and policy responses.
Methods: A non-systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar using combinations of the terms “ultra-processed food,” “NOVA classification,” “obesity,” “type 2 diabetes,” and “cardiovascular disease,” prioritizing systematic reviews, meta-analyses, prospective cohort studies, and randomized controlled trials published within the last ten years.
Results: Prospective cohort studies and meta-analyses consistently show that higher UPF intake is associated with increased risk of overweight, obesity, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and incident cardiovascular events. A landmark inpatient randomized controlled trial demonstrated that ad libitum UPF diets causally increase energy intake and body weight compared with minimally processed diets. Proposed mechanisms include hyperpalatability, low satiety, rapid ingestion rate, altered food matrices, additive exposure, and gut microbiome disruption.
Conclusion: The cumulative evidence supports a consistent, biologically plausible, and partly causal relationship between UPF consumption and major non-communicable diseases. Multisectoral policies, including front-of-package warning labels, fiscal measures, and marketing restrictions, are recommended to curb UPF consumption and its downstream cardiometabolic burden.
