Could we have misunderstood why junk food is bad for us all along? Processed food, like ready meals and snacks, is usually seen as unhealthy because of its high fat and sugar content and artificial ingredients.
But the real reason could be that processed food tends to be softer, and so is eaten more quickly than its whole-food equivalents, experts heard at a conference last week.
That softer texture means people manage to eat more calories before they feel full. And that could be why people who eat more ultra-processed food (UPF) tend to be more overweight, which worsens a host of health conditions.
Shorts
A study showed that people on a diet of UPF that was designed to take longer to eat had fewer calories per day than those in a comparison group eating regular UPF.
