junk food linked to anxiety, feeling more 'mentally unhealthy'

researchers at the florida atlantic university found that people who eat ultra-processed meals experience more anxiety, mild depression and “mentally unhealthy days” than those who don’t, ctv news reports .

the study, published in the journal public health nutrition , looked at data from more than 10,000 adults from the united states national health and nutrition examination survey between 2007 and 2012 to measure the connection between ultra-processed food (upf) consumption and mental health symptoms. the findings showed that people who ate the most upf had significant increases in negative mental health symptoms. in fact, they were least likely to report having days when they didn’t feel anxious or mentally unhealthy.

what are ultra-processed foods?

upfs are made mostly from substances extracted from other foods, like industrial produced oils, fats, starches, added sugars and protein isolates. they can also contain additives like artificial colours and flavours, stabilizers and preservatives that help them last. a good example is those fluffy, yellow, cream-filled twinkies, which have three dozen or so ingredients and a shelf life of about 25 days (not decades, as the urban myth suggests) . other upfs include frozen meals, soft drinks, hot dogs and cold cuts, instant noodles, fast food, and packaged cookies, cakes and salty snacks, according to harvard health .

“more than 70 per cent of packaged foods in the u.s. are classified as ultra-processed food and represent about 60 per cent of all calories consumed by americans,” eric hecht, co-author of the study said in a  release . “given the magnitude of exposure to, and effects of, ultra-processed food consumption, our study has significant clinical and public health implications.”

nova was developed by carlos monteiro , a professor of nutrition and public health at the university of sao paulo, brazil. when he wondered why the country’s rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes were on the rise despite a drop in sugar purchases, monteiro found sugar and dietary fat consumption had increased because of the industrial food products on the market.

what are canadians eating?

when it comes to the typical diet of canadians, a 2017 study from the university of montreal funded by the heart & stroke foundation, found that almost half of our daily calories come from ultra-processed foods. (professor monteiro was one of the study’s advisors.) the study also discovered that children between age nine and 13 consumed the most. according to a report published in 2020 in the journal applied physiology, nutrition and metabolism , canadians like chips or pretzels, cold breakfast cereal, fast food, and chocolate.

in fact, with an average 160 bars of chocolate eaten per year per person — canada is the ninth- largest consumer of chocolate in the world, one kilogram more than the u.s., says the inter-american institute for cooperation on agriculture . and while the antioxidants in dark chocolate have benefits, most regular chocolate bars in the candy section are ultra-processed and packed with “empty calories.”