This review synthesizes recent evidence on ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and the UPF addiction construct, covering health harms, classification debates, addictive mechanisms, new assessment tools, and emerging regulatory recognition.
Feeding trials and diet-quality-adjusted cohort studies indicate harm from food processing itself; GLP-1 agonists reduce both UPF intake and addictive-substance use; a first clinician-administered UPF addiction interview was developed; and Delphi consensus plus legislative attention support formal recognition of UPF addiction as a disorder.
No targeted interventions for UPF addiction have been evaluated; clinician-administered assessment data remain absent; the sufficiency of evidence for formal disorder recognition is still debated.
Clinicians should be aware that the evidence increasingly frames UPFs and UPF addiction as two sides of one problem—the substance and the disorder—suggesting that GLP-1 agonist therapy may carry the added benefit of reducing UPF and addictive-substance intake. Screening tools are evolving beyond self-report, so watch for the clinician-administered UPF addiction interview entering practice.
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