New Delhi:- Manufactured prepackaged snacks, fruit-flavoured beverages, and highly processed foods such as hot dogs have been associated with a range of health problems, from weight gain to certain types of cancer. So what role does food policy play in helping Americans avoid these foods?

A new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine concludes that US guidelines for dealing with highly processed foods are few and far between, lagging behind countries such as Belgium, Brazil and Israel.

"In some countries, highly processed foods are directly incorporated into national dietary guidelines and school feeding programs, but few policies in the United States directly target highly processed foods," said Jennifer Pomeranz, associate professor of public health policy and management at the New York University Graduate School of Public Health. PhD in International Public Health and lead author of the study. 

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After decades of focusing on single nutrients such as protein, fat, and carbohydrates in nutrition science and food policy, a growing body of evidence shows that there is more to dietary quality than nutrients.

“It's clear that the extent of processing of a food can influence its health effects, independent of its food ingredients or nutrient contents. Ultra-processed foods generally contain 'acellular nutrients'—nutrients lacking any of the natural intact food structure of the source ingredient—and other industrial ingredients and additives that together can increase risk of weight gain, diabetes, and other chronic diseases,” said study co-author Dariush Mozaffarian, the Jean Mayer Professor of Nutrition at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts.

Only a few countries around the world directly regulate ultra-processed foods, but those that do have limited its consumption in schools and recommend eating less ultra-processed food in dietary guidelines. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which inform the country's food and nutrition policies, do not currently mention ultra-processed food. However, the Scientific Advisory Board on the 2025-2030 US Dietary Guidelines is tasked with reviewing research on the consumption of highly processed foods in relation to weight gain. 

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To understand how U.S. policymakers have already approached policy on highly processed foods, the researchers collected all federal and state laws, bills, resolutions, ordinances, proposed regulations, and Congressional Research Service reports related to "processed" and "ultra-processed" foods.

They identified only 25 policies proposed or passed between 1983 and 2022, eight at the federal level and 17 at the state level. The majority (22 of 25) have been proposed or passed since 2011, indicating that US policy decisions on highly processed foods are fairly new.

The United States' highly processed food policy is often cited as incompatible with a healthy diet. Most of the activities were about healthy eating for children, including restricting highly processed foods in schools and educating children about nutrition. Another common theme was the relatively high price of healthy foods compared to highly processed foods. Only one policy actually defined highly processed foods (the Massachusetts School Feed Act), and there were three policies aimed at addressing the wider food environment by providing incentives for small retailers to stock healthy foods.  

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“The new U.S. policy language on highly processed foods is consistent with international policy on this issue. "The United States should consider processing levels in school food policies, especially to update the 'smart snack' rule, so that U.S. dietary guidelines reflect our understanding of highly processed foods and their health."

The New York University Graduate School of Global Public Health (NYU GPH) prepares the next generation of public health pioneers with the critical thinking skills, insight, and entrepreneurial spirit needed to reinvent public health paradigms. Dedicated to applying non-traditional, interdisciplinary models, New York University GPH seeks to improve health worldwide through a unique combination of global public health research, research, and practice. Located in the heart of New York City, the school extends New York University's global network to her six continents. Innovation is central to our ambitious approach, mindset and education.

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The Jerrold Mande T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Nutritional Sciences at Harvard University is also a co-author of the study. This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health. 

In United States the food policies are missing as the processed that the customers/consumers are having are getting resulted in some kind of health issues or kind of cancer.