Is this still news?
Have you read the paper ? - what’s new is that so far there was data that UPF is calorie dense and thereby leading more likely to obesity etc. In this study they fed under controlled design people UPF and “normal” food which had the same calories etc but the outcome on the weight, different pathways in the different groups is quite different. In addition, microplastic in UPF are also a significant issue
No, I have not. I don’t eat UPF, but the findings don’t surprise me one bit. It’s garbage food, which I thought had been established for quite some time now 
When I talk with people about this topic they are often surprised what is covered under UPF and that it goes beyond what many would consider UPF. The thread about Trader Joe’s for example is quite popular on this board and people underestimate how much at Trader Joe’s is considered UPF
This is why we need Big Pharma.
Lower testosterone? HRT to the rescue.
High levels of A1C? Pre-diabetic? DPP-4 inhibitors and GLP-1 agonists to the ready.
A complete symbiotic relationship.
A complete ecosystem.
What is considered UPF that people don’t normally think of as such?
I don’t get the impression that the majority of our members are ill- or misinformed about TJ’s products. I think the nature of this particular forum kinda implies an above average interest in food and ingredients, and all it relates to — including UPF and microplastics (although I think that ship has sailed, but that’s the pessimist/German in me )
Do our members visit FF places — some with gusto? Sure. Does TJ’s make exceptionally tempting and delicious snacks, sweets, and apparently quite popular frozen meals? Evidently so. Ima sucker for their hot Italian sausages, bc they are delicious with a surprisingly high heat level. Processed? You betcha. I don’t butcher my own meat, I don’t make my own sausages, I don’t dip my own nuts in chocolate, etc. etc. … though I do prefer to make (and flavor) my own popcorn, being the artisan I am 
I believe the majority of our members not only have the smarts, not to mention the financial means to buy fresh, locally grown stuff and prepare it probably 75-85% of the time. At home.
The occasional high sugar high fat high carb high super-duper-ultra processed food can and often will be just that: an occasional treat.
But no doubt other members can speak for themselves if they care to chime in 
Some people are surprised when they realize some everyday items (it obviously depends with some of them if they are processed in a certain way) are UPF like - plant-based milks, supermarkets breads, flavored yogurts, cereals, plant-based meats, deli meats, protein bars, chips, pre-sliced cheese, many cookies, margarine, ketchup, salad dressings, frozen fries
honk,
I think we have to be careful not to throw out the baby with the proverbial bath water.
Not all UPF are “bad”.
Things like baked beans, marmite, natto or tofu, and even infant formula would be considered UPF, but yet none of them are really unhealthy for consumption.
Even something as often vilified as salad dressing, while no doubt an UPF or maybe even an HUPF, can still be a good thing if it gets people to eat more vegetables, i.e., as in preparing a salad with said HUPF dressing.
The issue of UPF, no matter how defined, cannot be either dismissed or resolved with broad strokes, as it is not a homogenized issue.
Yes and no - you are correct that mit every UPF is automatically really bad for you if you est it a few times a year but at the same time more and more data seems to indicate that UPF as a (broad) food class has a lot of negative effects on your body. Your salad dressing is a good example - perhaps it might help a few people to eat more vegetables but if you eat that stuff on a regular basis I am not sure if the vegetables “override” the negative effects of the UPF sauce. The question seems to be how to approach the problems with UPF across the population which to a large part isn’t very interested in such issues
I don’t have any empirical data, much less human randomized controlled trials, but I would bet you dozens and dozens of donuts, that the vegetables one eats with the salad dressing would no doubt counteract whatever deleterious effects of the salad dressing.
Until plants grow nipples that should be obvious to anyone that bothers to think about it. As some who has become lactose intolerant I really miss some cow milk based foods like ice cream and the fake stuff tastes fake so I don’t bother.
You would be surprised how many people think that these “milks” are just ground nuts and water
I guess it’s the same people who think cane sugar is all natural. If you remove the heavy industrial processing in between the plant and the powdery white stuff.
Obviously, I also don’t have any scientific data but if you have to convince people to eat any vegetables by adding lots of UPF salad dressing (and if the often overdressed salads in restaurants are an indication on how people prefer to dress their salads at home…) I am not so sure about your statement.
I’m going to “weigh in” with my current experience as a research participant in a similar study that is being conducted in the US, courtesy of the NIH, to look at the role various diets have on one’s metabolism and microbiome among other measures. It’s called “Nutrition for Precision Health” in case anyone is curious about enrolling or to learn more about its intentions. Along with some financial compensation, I’m also getting several body composition tests, I’m getting readouts of my average glucose levels over the diet periods and the rare opportunity not to have to think about meal planning for several weeks. It’s a 10 week commitment and I just started week 9. The three diets I have to consume (and nothing else, and I have to refrain from taking supplements, drugs and alcohol during the meal periods) are a Mediterranean style diet, an UPF diet (which the study staff jokingly call “The American diet”) and a hybrid diet that incorporates elements of both (e.g. raw celery sticks snack with a dip made of cheese). Portion sizes are tailored to your average caloric needs that were obtained during a baseline period where I was just reporting my regular dietary intake. (aka “my crappy diet”) From that I learned that my caloric needs per day is only 1500 calories. I have completed the Mediterranean and hybrid portions. So far, by body fat percentage has dropped from 23% to 20% and my average glucose levels went from 121 down to 102. My weight has remained stable within a two to three pound band when measured daily. Today is my first day of the UPF diet which is quite the change from the previous two. I will be interested to see how how this affects these particular measures of body composition and glucose as well as my personal satiety after ingesting White Castle sliders, hot dogs, ruffles, canned peaches, cereal and milk, hot dogs, cookies etc. for the next two weeks. I’m hoping that at some point, I will also receive some additional feedback about other measurements associated with the several blood, urine, saliva and stool samples I have provided over the study period.
Thanks for the overview of your studies - hopefully you can report the results (even the more detailed ones) once you completed all three diets
These books explain UPF very well.
In UP People, Van Tulleken eats a UPF diet for a month. He also compares his diet with his twin brother (also a MD but living in the US) who was 40 lbs heavier, consuming a lot of UPF.
In “Formerly Known as Food”, Lawless gets into the science of deconstructing whole foods into additives (building blocks of UPF). It’s horrifying and backed by science.
There are UPF that are good and healthy (baby formula) but they are the exception in most cases (exception fallacy), often used by food industry types to point out that UPF isn’t really that bad. The exception fallacy has been used for all sorts of stuff like global climate change, tobacco use, etc. I mean, like NO WAY corporations wanting to make $$$ would lie to the public, right? 
