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\u201cThe classification of foods as ultra-processed is kind of nebulous and confusing,\u201d Melanson said. \u201cConsumers don\u2019t understand what it means, and even researchers are in heated debates about classifying foods according to level of processing. Looking at just the process itself is very unidirectional, instead of considering other features of the food, most importantly the nutritional quality. Researchers tend to pigeon-hole foods, so our study is addressing a broader perspective to categorize food that takes into account not only processing, but also the nutritional quality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ultra-processed foods can include what most refer to as \u201cjunk food,\u201d like donuts, potato chips and soda. But \u201cprocessed food\u201d can mean something as simple as the skin being removed from a tomato before canning, or seasonings being added for taste. It can also mean that some foods have actually been improved nutritionally, such as whole grain breads or cereals that have been fortified with vitamins and minerals. Current nutritional guidelines do not delineate between positive and negative processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melanson is seeking volunteers to visit her lab on the Kingston campus on three separate occasions, during which they will be served test meals to compare. One meal will be \u201cthe gold standard\u201d of nutrition\u2014minimally processed food with high nutritional value\u2014and participants will compare it to one meal of highly ultra-processed food with high nutritional quality, and another of highly ultra-processed food with low nutritional quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are foods in the American food supply within that middle category that are ultra-processed, according to the categorization, yet they\u2019re high in dietary fibers, they provide vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, protein, essential amino acids,\u201d Melanson said. \u201cThese foods also tend to be more affordable and more convenient for consumers who have a tight budget or a tight schedule. We are trying to understand if they are OK compared to the gold standard for people who do have a tight budget or schedule. These are foods that are still high quality, yet convenient and lower cost because of the specific type of processing they have undergone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The study is seeking consumer perceptions of ultra-processed foods, while also measuring energy intake, satiety, and eating behaviors using the Universal Eating Monitor to measure the speed different foods are being consumed. Do consumers take in too many calories because they\u2019re eating the tasty, ultra-processed foods too quickly and not realizing they\u2019re getting full? Are they eating too much to compensate for lower nutrition in some processed foods? Researchers will also track participants\u2019 food and beverage consumption for the remainder of each day to assess possible energy intake compensation, and levels of processing of the foods they choose to eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Malanson\u2019s lab is also running a companion study about consumer perceptions of foods regarding level of processing and nutritional quality. Adults 18 to 39 are welcome to take a 15-minute online survey<\/a> to rate whether they think examples of foods are ultra-processed, and whether they think those foods have high nutritional quality, and why. Any adults 18 to 39 interested in taking part in this or the primary study can contact breakfastclubstudy@gmail.com<\/a> or Melanson at kmelanson@uri.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Together, the studies will shed light on consumers\u2019 perceptions of ultra-processed foods, help inform the USDA, and dispel some misconceptions about processed foods, especially those that fall in the middle, between ultra-processed and organic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt would be the ideal if people could grow their own organic food in their own gardens, but most people don\u2019t have the resources or the time for that, so that is an impractical dream,\u201d Melanson said. \u201cConsumers should consider the whole food\u2014yes whether it\u2019s ultra-processed or not\u2014but also what it provides, the pros and cons; not just trying to pigeon-hole it as good food\/bad food. There are foods that are obviously at opposite sides\u2014chips, candy, soda\u2014and at the other end is the organic broccoli you grow in your backyard. But it\u2019s the food in between that takes a little more judgment. That\u2019s why the current categorization is not as clear as it should be. It\u2019s the fuzzy middle parts that our study is trying to get a handle on.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Professor Kathleen Melanson\u2019s study, funded by $300,000 USDA grant, aims to provide context to ultra-processed food discussion Ultra-processed foods make up more than half the food average Americans eat. Including frozen and prepared meals, most packaged snacks, desserts and carbonated soft drinks\u2014but also including more innocuous foods\u2014they are often considered the bane of healthy eating, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1710,"featured_media":10848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1710"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10847"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10847\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10854,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10847\/revisions\/10854"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}