Ultra-processed foods need tobacco-style warnings, says scientist

UPFs should also be heavily taxed due to impact on health and mortality, says scientist who coined term

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are displacing healthy diets all over the world" despite growing evidence of the risks they pose and should be sold with tobacco-style warnings, according to the nutritional scientist who first coined the term.

Prof Carlos Monteiro of the University of Sao Paulo will highlight the increasing danger UPFs present to children and adults at the International Congress on Obesity this week.