Why can’t I just have one? Advertisers win awards for driving consumers to the latest convenience snack, and we sing commercial jingles to ourselves while we shop—but is it the tagline that’s responsible for our obsessive eating, or something a little bit more deliberate?

Those living with excess weight often feel their lack of willpower and need for convenience is the main reason they choose taste over health. But, you may be surprised to know that the “foods” on the shelves of grocery stores, schools, work canteens, and pretty much everywhere in between, are engineered for addiction, in the same way as cigarettes or illicit drugs.

They call it “hyperpalatable foods”, the inevitable consequence of making sugar, salt, and hydrogenated oil the main ingredient of most processed and ultra-processed food products. To compensate for the flavour eliminating preservation processes that gives these foods their long-shelf life, food scientists have steadily tinkered with obesogenic, carcinogenic, and metabolic disruptive ingredients and chemicals to entice consumers into buying large quantities of their product.

Today, hyperpalatable foods, not alcohol or cigarettes, are the main drug of consumption, as 64% of the UK population is overweight or obese—24% more than the combined cigarette, illicit drug, and alcohol overuse figures in Britain.

Similar statistics can be seen across the globe, with 67% of Americans and 60% of Irish being overweight or obese. In fact, 2 billion adults in the global population are either overweight or obese.

What Makes a Food Hyperpalatable?

When thinking about hyperpalatable food, processed and ultra-processed foods come to mind. Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF) are the leading cause of diet related disease, and this is whether someone is living with excess weight or not. UPF is also the second leading cause of preventable death in the world.

But hyperpalatable does not necessarily mean a food is as processed as a bag of crips. Chef’s everyday use techniques to boost the tastiness of a meal, and they do this when they combine fat, salt, or sugar at moderate to high levels in a way that synergistically enhances its palatability.

The food industry combines fat (in the form of hydrogenated oils), mineral-depleted salt and simple sugars with chemical additives. This allows them to engineer an amplified sensory appeal, with nearly untapped amounts of fat, salt and sugar to small quantities of nutrient-devoid food. Too much fat, salt or sugar can ruin a homecooked meal, even if the recipe is by a Michelin star chef. But a food corporation can use laboratory techniques to increase the quantities of salt, hydrogenated oil and sugar to levels that hijack the brain’s natural reward system, triggering a dopamine rush that fosters further cravings.

Another quality of hyperpalatable food is that along with taste, the texture, colour, and aroma of foods are also enhanced, further enticing consumers. These modifications not only make UPFs easier to eat and more convenient to prepare, the artificial colouring and strong smells particularly engage younger people, while creating a powerful anticipation response to eat them.

What Exactly Makes Hyperpalatable Foods So Addictive?

Have you ever heard someone open a bag of potato crisps and thought you needed to open a bag yourself? Or seen someone bite into a doughnut, (with its excess fat and sugar), and immediately go over and pick one up yourself?

Hyperpalatable products override the multiple mechanisms the body has in place to manage hunger and stop eating. These products beat out hormones, the stretch responses in your stomach and intestines (which signal you’re full) and can even manipulate your mood.

Studies show that no single micronutrient can be classed as all-bad or all-good, and though UPFs have a plethora of artificial or heavily modified ingredients, there is no single chemical within these foods that lead to addiction. Yet, hyperpalatable foods interfere with the bodies balance of minerals and nutrients, such as the synthesis of the amino acid tryptophan, or the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), compounds essential for health. Low levels of tryptophan have been shown to increase the consumption of sweets in individuals. Additionally, low consumption of fibre decreases SCFAs, which in-turn, increases food intake and hunger.

This is because hyperpalatable products change our relationship with food, so that instead of craving nutrients and energy (found in healthy foods), we experience hunger simply to top up our reward centre or to easily fill nutrient gaps, called “hedonic hunger”.

This means we become driven by food cues (like a commercial or hearing the sizzle of a hot dog on a grill), rather than actual hunger.

The easier it is to obtain the food that triggers hedonic hunger, the more that food is reinforced in the reward centre. So, when a bag of crisps is easier to access and eat than a salad, your body will start to crave the crisps first during actual times of hunger.

Health Consequences

Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and autism have all been steadily on the rise since the introduction of UPF in Western and emerging economies.

In 2019, 64% of avoidable deaths in the UK were considered preventable, and many of these preventable conditions were fuelled by metabolic or obesity related illness.

Now this doesn’t mean that UPF only impacts those overweight or obese; the global burden of cancer and heart disease is also linked to consumption of these foods with or without excess weight. Hyperpalatable foods are a global health crisis, fuelled by the affordability, easy availability, and widespread marketing of these products.

How to Move Forward

All is not lost—the first step is to acknowledge the existence and influence of hyperpalatable foods to avoid falling into their trap. Importantly, don’t shame those with excess weight or those who eat high quantities of UPF—now is the time to inform your friends and family of the habit-forming consequences of hyperpalatable foods.

Hyperpalatable foods are engineered for profit, by preying on human biology, exploiting our natural inclination towards foods that trigger pleasure. It’s no surprise that many of the most well-known and hyperpalatable UPF brands, like Lunchables and Jell-O, were under food manufacturers once owned by Big Tobacco.

Unfortunately, a lot of people are already addicted to these highly engineered foods. Yet, food can be made extremely palatable and highly delicious without harming health by re-wiring your reward system to things that sustain your body. People use techniques every day to boost the tastiness of a meal, and they do this when they combine healthy fats, mineral rich-salt, and healthy sugar sources at moderate to high levels in a way that synergistically enhances its palatability.

Certain herb, spice and functional food combinations achieve this easily, such as:

Mixing turmeric, ginger, garlic, paprika, coriander, and cumin, or infusing these herbs in cold-pressed olive oil—this enhances the taste of food without the need for excess salt or fats.
Raw honey, molasses, and papaya can all be good substitutes for sugar, and when paired with organic Greek yoghurt and chia seeds, can give that sugar and fat synergy that highly palatable foods have, without harming your health.

By experimenting with herbs and spices, people can become empowered to break free from the grip of these engineered intoxicants and lead a more balanced, nourishing lifestyle.

Also, Governments can push for better labelling of UPF, citing whether they are hyperpalatable or not. With cigarette smoking, graphic warnings on the packaging has been effective in increasing intentions to quit and encouraging people to avoid picking up the habit. Chile has already begun this with food, adding prominent warning labels that highlight excessive sugar or sodium.

Though the UK applies a levy on high sugar items produced overseas being imported in, the consumer never really gets to see how these hyperpalatable foods or drinks are truly impacting their health.

The Road Ahead

There’s a lot of work that will be required to reduce and eliminate widespread access to hyperpalatable foods—regulation, consumer awareness campaigns, and a shift in societal norms from monetary gain to health.

In the meantime, say no to ultra processed foods. In every instance, as you would do for alcohol, or any other addictive substance, be mindful of what you are truly putting into your mouth.

We can enhance palatability naturally with herbs that not only are delicious, but promote long-life and vitality.

References:

Gupta, Arpana, Vadim Osadchiy, and Emeran A. Mayer. "Brain–gut–microbiome interactions in obesity and food addiction." Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology 17, no. 11 (2020): 655-672.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (2018). Overweight & Obesity Statistics . [online] National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Available at: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity.

Health Service Executive. (n.d.). Key Facts. [online] Available at: https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/healthwellbeing/our-priority-programmes/heal/key-facts/#:~:text=Healthy%20Ireland%20Survey%20key%20findings.

World Obesity Federation. (2022). Prevalence of Obesity. [online] Available at: https://www.worldobesity.org/about/about-obesity/prevalence-of-obesity#:~:text=The%20World%20Obesity%20Federation%20estimates

Espel-Huynh, H. M., Muratore, A. F., & Lowe, M. R. (2018). A narrative review of the construct of hedonic hunger and its measurement by the Power of Food Scale. Obesity science & practice, 4(3), 238–249. https://doi.org/10.1002/osp4.161

lsa.umich.edu. (n.d.). Why are Teddy Grahams, Lunchables, and Jell-O so addictive? It could be Big Tobacco’s fault | U-M LSA Department of Psychology. [online] Available at: https://lsa.umich.edu/psych/news-events/all-news/faculty-news/why-are-teddy-grahams--lunchables--and-jell-o-so-addictive--it-c.html#:~:text=New%20research%20suggests%20when%20major [Accessed 9 Jan. 2024].

Office of National Statistics (2021). Avoidable mortality in the UK - Office for National Statistics. [online] Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/causesofdeath/bulletins/avoidablemortalityinenglandandwales/2019.

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