Like cigarettes, ultra-processed foods designed for 'rapid hit' & addiction: Study
Researchers say Big Food borrowed the tobacco playbook—now regulators are being urged to respond.
The report, authored by researchers from Harvard University, the University of Michigan and Duke University, highlights striking similarities between the manufacturing strategies used by UPF makers and those historically adopted by the tobacco industry.
These include optimising “doses” of ingredients and ensuring that products act rapidly on the brain’s reward pathways.
UPFs are typically industrially manufactured foods with low nutritional value, high levels of fat, salt and sugar, and extensive use of additives such as flavour enhancers, preservatives, emulsifiers and artificial colouring.
Common examples include packaged biscuits, chips, breakfast cereals and soft drinks. Despite their growing presence in Indian diets, India’s food regulations do not clearly define what constitutes an ultra-processed food.
A growing body of scientific evidence has linked high consumption of UPFs to a range of health problems, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, depression and early mortality.
BORROWING FROM TOBACCO PLAYBOOK
The new paper argues that UPFs share key engineering strategies pioneered by the tobacco industry, particularly dose optimisation and hedonic manipulation.
These techniques are designed to maximise pleasure while encouraging repeated use, making overconsumption more likely.
The authors say these parallels should guide how UPFs are classified and regulated.
Nutrition policy experts in India note that the findings are significant because they trace historical and structural links between tobacco companies and major UPF manufacturers, revealing continuity in product design and regulatory avoidance.
“This supports the conclusion that harm is foreseeable and designed,” said Dr Arun Gupta, co-convener of Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi).
DESIGNED FOR RAPID REWARD
Drawing on addiction science, nutrition research and public health history, the study shows that UPFs are engineered to deliver a rapid “hit” of refined carbohydrates and fats.
This is combined with flavour technologies that create intense but short-lived pleasure, prompting consumers to eat more in quick succession.
“These products are made for constant availability and aggressive marketing, while being health-washed through claims such as low-fat, added vitamins or protein-enriched,” Dr Gupta said.
“This mirrors the cigarette marketing playbook, which manipulated biology while concealing harm.”
Nutrition researcher Dr Suneeta Chandorkar from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, who studies hyperpalatability in foods, said that while the concept remains debated, there are established indices to measure hyperpalatable foods.
Several studies, she noted, show that UPF consumption can increase dopamine release in reward pathways at levels comparable to nicotine.
She cautioned, however, that not all fortified foods classified as UPFs are necessarily harmful, underscoring the need for nuanced regulation.
INDIA'S GROWING UPF CHALLENGE
India’s exposure to ultra-processed foods is rising rapidly. The Economic Survey 2025–26, released last week by Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageshwaran, reported that the market share of UPFs in India grew by 150 percent between 2009 and 2023.
The survey also recorded a 40-fold increase in retail sales of UPFs, from $0.9 billion in 2006 to nearly $38 billion in 2019. This growth, it noted, coincides with rising obesity and other diet-related health conditions across the country.
With India already facing a growing epidemic of childhood obesity, diabetes and non-communicable diseases, Dr Gupta said the policy question is no longer whether UPFs cause harm, but whether regulators act early or repeat the mistakes made with tobacco by allowing aggressive marketing that conceals material risks.
Experts argue that policy tools once used against tobacco could be adapted for UPFs. These include restrictions on advertising, particularly to children; bans on celebrity endorsements, promotional incentives and sponsorships in sports and schools; and limits on the availability of UPFs in schools, hospitals and public institutions.
Front-of-pack warnings highlighting health risks, addictive potential and high levels of sugar, salt and fat are also urgently needed, Dr Gupta added.
Last month, the UK government took a decisive step by enforcing a sweeping ban on advertising foods high in fat, salt and sugar. The measures prohibit such ads on television before 9 pm and impose a near-total ban across social media platforms to reduce exposure among children and adolescents.
The report, authored by researchers from Harvard University, the University of Michigan and Duke University, highlights striking similarities between the manufacturing strategies used by UPF makers and those historically adopted by the tobacco industry.
These include optimising “doses” of ingredients and ensuring that products act rapidly on the brain’s reward pathways.
UPFs are typically industrially manufactured foods with low nutritional value, high levels of fat, salt and sugar, and extensive use of additives such as flavour enhancers, preservatives, emulsifiers and artificial colouring.
Common examples include packaged biscuits, chips, breakfast cereals and soft drinks. Despite their growing presence in Indian diets, India’s food regulations do not clearly define what constitutes an ultra-processed food.
A growing body of scientific evidence has linked high consumption of UPFs to a range of health problems, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, depression and early mortality.
BORROWING FROM TOBACCO PLAYBOOK
The new paper argues that UPFs share key engineering strategies pioneered by the tobacco industry, particularly dose optimisation and hedonic manipulation.
These techniques are designed to maximise pleasure while encouraging repeated use, making overconsumption more likely.
The authors say these parallels should guide how UPFs are classified and regulated.
Nutrition policy experts in India note that the findings are significant because they trace historical and structural links between tobacco companies and major UPF manufacturers, revealing continuity in product design and regulatory avoidance.
“This supports the conclusion that harm is foreseeable and designed,” said Dr Arun Gupta, co-convener of Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi).
DESIGNED FOR RAPID REWARD
Drawing on addiction science, nutrition research and public health history, the study shows that UPFs are engineered to deliver a rapid “hit” of refined carbohydrates and fats.
This is combined with flavour technologies that create intense but short-lived pleasure, prompting consumers to eat more in quick succession.
“These products are made for constant availability and aggressive marketing, while being health-washed through claims such as low-fat, added vitamins or protein-enriched,” Dr Gupta said.
“This mirrors the cigarette marketing playbook, which manipulated biology while concealing harm.”
Nutrition researcher Dr Suneeta Chandorkar from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, who studies hyperpalatability in foods, said that while the concept remains debated, there are established indices to measure hyperpalatable foods.
Several studies, she noted, show that UPF consumption can increase dopamine release in reward pathways at levels comparable to nicotine.
She cautioned, however, that not all fortified foods classified as UPFs are necessarily harmful, underscoring the need for nuanced regulation.
INDIA'S GROWING UPF CHALLENGE
India’s exposure to ultra-processed foods is rising rapidly. The Economic Survey 2025–26, released last week by Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageshwaran, reported that the market share of UPFs in India grew by 150 percent between 2009 and 2023.
The survey also recorded a 40-fold increase in retail sales of UPFs, from $0.9 billion in 2006 to nearly $38 billion in 2019. This growth, it noted, coincides with rising obesity and other diet-related health conditions across the country.
With India already facing a growing epidemic of childhood obesity, diabetes and non-communicable diseases, Dr Gupta said the policy question is no longer whether UPFs cause harm, but whether regulators act early or repeat the mistakes made with tobacco by allowing aggressive marketing that conceals material risks.
Experts argue that policy tools once used against tobacco could be adapted for UPFs. These include restrictions on advertising, particularly to children; bans on celebrity endorsements, promotional incentives and sponsorships in sports and schools; and limits on the availability of UPFs in schools, hospitals and public institutions.
Front-of-pack warnings highlighting health risks, addictive potential and high levels of sugar, salt and fat are also urgently needed, Dr Gupta added.
Last month, the UK government took a decisive step by enforcing a sweeping ban on advertising foods high in fat, salt and sugar. The measures prohibit such ads on television before 9 pm and impose a near-total ban across social media platforms to reduce exposure among children and adolescents.