Revolutionary research has demonstrated that preparing meals from basic ingredients leads to double the weight reduction compared to consuming ultra-processed alternatives, despite both dietary approaches containing identical nutritional values.
The groundbreaking investigation, conducted by University College London and UCL Hospitals NHS trust, represents the first scientific evidence establishing a definitive connection between ultra-processed foods and weight management outcomes.
The findings challenge conventional dietary wisdom by revealing that food processing methods, rather than nutritional composition alone, play a crucial role in determining weight loss success.
This discovery suggests that the structure and preparation of food significantly influence how our bodies respond to consumption, regardless of matching calorie counts, fat content, or other nutritional factors.
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Preparing meals from basic ingredients leads to double the weight reduction
The research involved 55 participants with an average BMI of 32, classified as obese, who underwent two distinct eight-week dietary interventions separated by a four-week return to normal eating habits.
Participants received home-delivered meals exceeding their caloric requirements and were instructed to consume portions according to their preferences.
Those following the minimally processed regime consumed 290 fewer calories than usual and achieved an average weight reduction of two per cent, predominantly from fat tissue.
In contrast, the ultra-processed food group consumed 120 fewer calories and experienced only one per cent weight loss.
Researchers project these results could translate to annual weight reductions of 13 per cent for males and nine per cent for females.
Prof Chris van Tulleken, study author and writer of Ultra-Processed People, stated: "The global food system at the moment drives diet-related poor health and obesity, particularly because of the wide availability of cheap, unhealthy food."
He emphasised: "This study highlights the importance of ultra-processing in driving health outcomes in addition to the role of nutrients like fat, salt and sugar.
"It underlines the need to shift the policy focus away from individual responsibility and onto the environmental drivers of obesity, such as the influence of multinational food companies in shaping unhealthy food environments."
Dr Samuel Dicken, the study's lead author, noted that while ultra-processed foods aren't all "inherently unhealthy", their softer consistency and higher caloric density facilitate overconsumption.
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The investigation, published in Nature Medicine, revealed that participants experienced fewer food cravings and enhanced resistance to temptation whilst following the minimally processed regime, contradicting typical weight loss patterns.
Dr Adrian Brown, a study co-author, highlighted: "The cost-of-living crisis has impacted people's choices on food. Healthy food is up to two times more expensive than unhealthy food."
Rob Percival from the Soil Association commented: "For decades, the UK government's 'healthy eating' guidelines have neglected processing, assuming that whole foods and ultra-processed products might deliver the same health outcomes. We now know that to be false."
A Department of Health and Social Care representative confirmed the government has initiated research into ultra-processed food impacts and remains "committed to tackling obesity and building a healthier Britain".