ReviewThe lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology2021
Towards unified and impactful policies to reduce ultra-processed food consumption and promote healthier eating.
Review in The lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 195 papers, 12 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
195 citing papers in PubMed, 12 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 314 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Impact of ultra-processed foods consumption on the burden of obesity and type 2 diabetes in Belgium: a comparative risk assessment.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Ultra-processed foods and risk of all-cause mortality: an updated systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.Systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Neurobiological insights into the effects of ultra-processed food on lipid metabolism and associated mental health conditions: a scoping review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Eating Behaviours and Dietary Intake in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review.Current nutrition reports · 2024Pooled it
- Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2024Pooled it
- Non-traditional data sources in obesity research: a systematic review of their use in the study of obesogenic environments.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2023Pooled it
- Ultra-Processed Food Intake Is Associated with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- Systematic literature review of instruments that measure the healthfulness of food and beverages sold in informal food outlets.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Pooled it
- Ultra-Processed Foods and Nutritional Dietary Profile: A Meta-Analysis of Nationally Representative Samples.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of Overweight/Obesity on Motor Performance in Children: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- Trial
- Integrative development of a short screening questionnaire of highly processed food consumption (sQ-HPF).The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Visceral adipose tissue and incident cardiovascular disease among individuals without diabetes: an analysis of 15 prospective cohorts from 7 countries in Latin America.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2026Article
- Predictive Performance of Seven Clinical Surrogates of Visceral Adipose Tissue for Cardiovascular Mortality: A Sub-Analysis of 102 385 Adults From the Mexico City Prospective Study.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Article
- Ultra-processed food supply in hospitals: A cross-sectional analysis of Australian hospitals using cook fresh foodservices.Nutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia · 2026Article
- Food-environment policies for child nutrition in Ecuador and Latin America: beyond front-of-package labels and advertising restrictions.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2026Review
135 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
8 authors at 6 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The global surges in obesity and nutrition-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have created a need for decisive new food policy initiatives. A major concern has been the impact of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and ultra-processed drinks on weight gain and on the risk of several NCDs. These foods, generally high in calories, added sugar, sodium, and unhealthy fats, and poor in fibre, protein, and micronutrients, have extensive negative effects on human health and on the environment (due to their associated carbon emission and water use). There is a growing tendency worldwide, and especially in South America, for food companies to add micronutrients to UPFs to make health claims regarding these products, to which food-regulating authorities refer to fake foods. Although more than 45 countries and smaller subregional or urban entities have created taxes on ultra-processed drinks, such as sugar-sweetened beverages, only a few have adopted taxes on snacks and other UPFs, and none have added major subsidies for truly healthy, fresh or minimally processed food for people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Another major focus has been on developing effective package labelling. A smaller number of countries have selected the most impactful warning labels and linked them with other measures to create a mutually reinforcing set of policies; a few other countries have developed effective school food policies. We herein present in-depth results from key countries involved in all these actions and in comprehensive marketing controls, and conclude with our recommendations for the future. This field is quite new; progress to date is substantial, but much more is left to learn.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.