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Food companies are preventing government action to limit the harms caused by ultra-processed food while simultaneously driving a global rise in its consumption that is damaging our health, according to a major international study into the issue.

A three-part series on ultra-processed foods (UPFs) published in  involved 43 experts from across the globe, including researchers from the UK, the US, Brazil, Ghana, India, as well as the University of Sydney, Deakin University and the University of Melbourne.  

UPFs include convenience foods like chips, sweets and ready meals. Made from processed ingredients and additives, they often contain high levels of sugar, salt and saturated fat and have limited nutritional value. 

Dr Phillip Baker from the Sydney School of Public Health, who co-led the Lancet Series, said: “As their global annual sales top $1.9 trillion, big food companies are making huge profits by replacing fresh and minimally processed diets with unhealthy ultra-processed foods. 

“Like the coordinated efforts to challenge the tobacco industry, we need a strong global public health response that stands up to corporate power, safeguards policy decisions from political lobbying and builds powerful coalitions advocating for healthy, fair and sustainable food systems." 

What the Lancet series on ultra-processed foods says 

The three papers in the Lancet Series tackle different aspects of the ultra-processed food problem.

Paper one reviews scientific evidence showing that UPFs are displacing long-established dietary patterns, worsening diet quality, and are associated with an increased risk of multiple chronic diet-related diseases.

 from the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN) at  said: “There is growing evidence that ultra-processed foods are displacing healthy diets and harming health globally. In the face of vested interests, we must be bold and address the issue to protect our collective health.” 

Meanwhile, paper two outlines the coordinated policies needed to regulate and reduce UPF production, marketing, and consumption. It sets out how improving diets worldwide requires specific UPF policies to complement existing legislation aimed at reducing high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) content in foods.

���ڰ��dz������ʴ�����������, said: “Governments should be considering policies like restricting UPF marketing directed at children, placing front-of-pack warning labels on products, and getting UPFs out of hospitals and schools.

“One success story is in Brazil, where the government has eliminated most UPFs from schools and will require 90 percent of food to be fresh or minimally processed.”

 from the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystems Sciences at the University of Melbourne, who also co-led the Lancet series, added: “Confronting ultra-processing demands a bold, coordinated global response – one that reins in the disproportionate power of UPF corporations and re-orients food systems towards public health and environmental sustainability.

“To combat UPFs, policies must also ensure healthy, whole and minimally processed foods are accessible and affordable to all.”

The third and final paper explains how global corporations, rather than individual choices are driving the rise of UPFs. 

The experts highlight the way food companies use cheap ingredients and industrial methods to cut costs. They also highlight the use of aggressive marketing and appealing designs to boost consumption. The study outlines tactics food companies use to influence legislation, through lobbying politicians, coordinating hundreds of interest groups worldwide, making political donations and engaging in litigation to delay policies.

Lessons are shared from advocacy successes in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, showing how well-organised coalitions have generated political commitment to policy action.

Dr Baker, also a member of the Charles Perkins Centre, added: “We live in a world where our food options are increasingly dominated by UPFs, contributing to rising global levels of obesity, diabetes and mental ill-health. Our series highlights a different path, one where governments regulate effectively, communities mobilise, and healthier diets are accessible and affordable for all.”

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Ultra-Processed Foods and Human Health (Lancet, 2025)

DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01565-X

Declaration:

The Lancet Series on Ultra-processed Foods and Human Health was supported by funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies.