Do Ultra-Processed Foods Lead to Weight Gain?

There is so much information out there about ultra-processed foods (UPFs). Some places say to completely avoid them, other places say they’re okay in moderation. There’s always a headline about them causing weight gain or cancer. But is it that simple? Are they really that bad?

What are UPFs?

There isn’t actually a universally accepted definition of what a UPF is and this leads to further confusion. Some foods that are technically ultra-processed are still beneficial for health and wouldn’t be considered ‘bad’ like wholegrain bread for example.

For the sake of this blog post, I’ll define a UPF as a food that has gone through significant processing from its original state, with ingredients you wouldn’t find in your home kitchen.

Do UPFs lead to weight gain? 

Weight gain is caused by a calorie excess, regardless of where the calories come from. But UPFs are likely to be high in fat and/or sugar which means high calorie and can lead to a calorie excess and weight gain.  

Research looking into this does show an increased chance of gaining weight with the more UPFs you consume. But this is also linked to a poorer diet quality overall. This means that if someone’s diet is higher in UPFs it’s likely to be lower in nutrients like fibre and vitamins and minerals too. 

Also, when eating UPFs it’s difficult to get satisfied, that is, they’re easy to eat and taste really good, so you’re likely to keep eating. Think crisps being ‘moreish’ or having chocolates from a share box and reaching in for ‘just one more’. This lack of satiety means you keep eating, which contributes to extra calories and can cause weight gain.

But, as I said, it’s having more calories than you need that leads to weight gain. It’s not the fact that something is a UPF alone that means you’ll gain weight. Take oat milk for example, oat milk is an ultra-processed food. But using it in your tea or coffee doesn't mean you’ll suddenly gain weight. It’s your diet overall that leads to weight gain.

There are also concerns that UPFs can lead to an increase in diseases like type 2 diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. We don’t have strong enough evidence to show a direct cause and effect but given that there is a link between UPFs and disease, it’s worth reducing your intake where you can.

How to reduce intake of UPFs:

It’s your diet overall that has the most impact on your health and weight. And we don’t want UPFs to be replacing other nutritious foods in your diet, so if you want to improve your diet quality and reduce your intake of UPFs, this is how to do it.

All it takes is 3 steps:

• Step 1: Reflect
• Step 2: Learn
• Step 3: Swap

Step 1 - Reflect on what you currently eat

You can’t make any changes if you don’t know what to change! I think a food diary is a really helpful way to look at what you’re eating and see any patterns.

You can keep a paper diary, use an online notes page or buy a template like the one on my Etsy store to help you record what you eat. Recording your food for a week is ideal but if you’re keen to make changes then I'd say at least 3 days, including one weekend to get a good idea. 

This will help you spot how often you eat UPFs and what type of UPFs you eat regularly. 

Step 2 - Learn about other options:

Spending some time in the supermarket (or online if you shop that way) to look at food labels will help you spot what foods are less processed. There’s no hard and fast rule to it but generally the fewer ingredients the less processed it is. 

This doesn't mean you have to cut out lots of foods, but it’s about finding options that will work for your lifestyle that are less processed than what you currently eat.

For example, you may have 3 yoghurt options. 

One is a Greek yoghurt with the following ingredients:

Greek Style Natural Yogurt (Cows' Milk).

One could be an Muller light yoghurt with the following ingredients:

Yogurt (Milk), Water, Strawberries (9%), Modified Maize Starch, Flavourings, Stabilisers: Pectins, Acidity Regulators: Sodium Citrates, Citric Acid, Colouring Foods: Beetroot Juice & Black Carrot Concentrates, Sweetener: Aspartame, Vitamin B6, Vitamin D.

While the other could be a Muller Corner yoghurt with the following ingredients:

Yogurt (Milk), Sugar, Water, Wheat Flour (Gluten) (with added Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Cocoa Butter, Milk Powder, Coconut Oil, Sunflower Oil, Wheat Starch, Flavourings, Glazing Agents: Acacia Gum, Shellac, Glucose Syrup, Whey Powder (Milk), Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin, Salt, Stabiliser: Pectins, Colour: Carmines, Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid.

You can see a difference in the ingredients lists and this gives an idea about the level of processing, allowing you to make a change. For example if you were eating the Muller Corner yoghurt everyday you might change it to the Greek yoghurt or reduce how often you eat it.

Step 3 - make swaps:

Now you’ve identified the common UPFs in your diet and you know what other options are available, it's time to swap.

It can be useful to do it meal by meal and slowly make the swaps as it allows you to try things out and see if they work for your budget and lifestyle. 

Using the yoghurt example above, if you normally have a UPF yoghurt for breakfast, it’s worth trying a minimally processed option and you could use fruit, nuts and seeds for flavour and texture. 

It can be useful to plan out your meals with the swaps, meal prep as much as you can, and utilise convenience foods to make it easier. For example, if one of the swaps you’re making is to make your own curry sauce instead of buying the jarred sauces, don't be afraid to use a microwave rice pouch to serve it with as this can save time on a busy week night. 

Also plan for snack options too as this is easily forgotten! Easy snacks are things like plain popcorn, fruit and nuts, roasted chickpeas, or hummus and carrot sticks.

All in all, UPFs are likely to be high in calories which can lead to weight gain but it’s worth looking at the quality of your diet overall too. Looking at what you currently eat and making small swaps for less processed foods is a great way to improve your diet. And if you want more help on eating healthier and losing weight, check out my weight loss book on Amazon.

Key points:

• Ultra-processed foods are those that have gone through significant processing from their original state, with foods you’re not likely to find in a home kitchen.
• UPFs are likely to be high in fat and sugar which makes them high calorie. They’re also easy to overeat, which contributes to weight gain.
• UPFs are associated with health conditions like diabetes and heart disease. But it’s important to look at the diet quality overall than UPFs in isolation.
• To reduce intake of UPFs, look at what you’re currently eating and make small swaps for less processed options.

I hope you enjoyed this post!

Bye for now 👋

References:

Greek yoghurt - https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/sainsburys-natural-greek-style-yogurt-500g

Muller corner yoghurt - https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/muller-strawberry-shortcake-corner-135g 

Muller light yoghurt - https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/mullerlight-strawberry-175g 

UPFs and weight gain - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7946062/ 

UPFs and diet quality - https://synapse.koreamed.org/articles/1516089195 

UPFs linked to disease - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37722333/