Kelly Garton

In the health literature, for example, we had to go into different sort of food science bodies of literature.

And we also ended up speaking to a lot of experts in the field of food product design, as well as food marketing to really look at, you know, how different mechanisms are perhaps triggering or capitalizing on human biology or human psychology and sort of things that we are innately drawn to.

Our study was really the first one to take this literature and then draw it in a series of systems diagrams that showed these feedback loops.

So the two major loops that we identified here are again through product design and marketing.

So what we found is that they're really designed to heighten the reward signals that we experience when we're eating them.

They give really fast delivery of ingredients that reinforce these feelings, and they're made to just drive compulsive eating.

So once you start, it's hard to stop.

And then they disrupt the body's signaling.

So for example, signaling that we've had enough, that we're full, in a way that disrupts our ability to regulate our appetite.

So we know that ultra processed foods are typically high in salt, sugar and fats.

And these on their own can be reinforcing and that they they shape our taste preferences.

Right.

But this is stronger when they're combined.

And companies really work to to design the products that reach the maximum level.

you know, bliss points of combinations of these products, particular combinations of refined carbohydrates and fats in strong concentrations that maximize our experience of pleasure when eating them.

And they're delivered quickly in the body because industrial processing breaks down the food matrix.

So it strips things like fiber, protein, and water from the products.

And those are things that normally slow down our digestion.

So we get a quick hit of reward that then fades quickly.

So that leads to us wanting more, sort of creating this addictive response.