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Ultra-processed foods: Nova classification

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Learn more in our fact sheet on ultra-processed foods and drinks and the threat they pose to public health worldwide as they make up increasingly greater portions of the global diet.

Thumbnail image of UPF fact sheet

References:

  1. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010, to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 2010. 
  2. US FDA, DHHS. Title 21 – Food and Drugs; Chapter 9 – Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. 21 U.S.C. 2011.
  3. Monteiro CA, Cannon G, Levy RB, et al. Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them. Public Health Nutrition. 2019;22(5):936-941. 
  4. Monteiro CA, Cannon G, Moubarac J-C, Levy RB, Louzada MLC, Jaime PC. The UN Decade of Nutrition, the NOVA food classification and the trouble with ultra-processing. Public Health Nutrition. 2018;21(1):5-17. 
  5. Moss M. Hooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions. Random House; 2021.
  6. Lieberman DE. The Science Behind Your Need for One More Potato Chip. New York Times. March 12, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/12/books/review/hooked-michael-moss.html
  7. Garber AK, Lustig RH. Is fast food addictive? Curr Drug Abuse Rev. Sep 2011;4(3):146-62. doi:10.2174/1874473711104030146
  8. Gearhardt AN, Hebebrand J. The concept of “food addiction” helps inform the understanding of overeating and obesity: YES. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2021;113(2):263-267. doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqaa343
  9. Schulte EM, Gearhardt AN. Attributes of the food addiction phenotype within overweight and obesity. Eating and Weight Disorders – Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity. 2020/10/31 2020;doi:10.1007/s40519-020-01055-7
  10. Schiestl ET, Rios JM, Parnarouskis L, Cummings JR, Gearhardt AN. A narrative review of highly processed food addiction across the lifespan. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry. 2021/03/02/ 2021;106:110152. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.110152
  11. Gearhardt AN, DiFeliceantonio AG. Highly processed foods can be considered addictive substances based on established scientific criteria. Addiction. 2023;118(4):589-598. 
  12. Parnarouskis L, Gearhardt AN. Preliminary Evidence that Tolerance and Withdrawal Occur in Response to Ultra-processed Foods. Current Addiction Reports. 2022/12/01 2022;9(4):282-289. doi:10.1007/s40429-022-00425-8