Using a systems thinking approach to map the global rise of ultra-processed foods in population diets.

ABSTRACT: A key driver of obesity and diet-related illness globally has been the increased consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs). This paper aimed to identify the key actors, structures, incentives, and dynamics that characterize the global UPF system and have led to the dominance of UPFs in population diets. Based on a narrative review and using a systems thinking approach, we developed a causal loop diagram (CLD) of the global UPF system. The CLD comprises nine reinforcing loops: the commodification of diets; increasing market concentration; increasing UPF levels in food retail environments; the financialization of diets; direct corporate political influence; increasing capture of science, public opinion, and policy narratives; shifts from private to public food governance; state accommodati

SUBMITTER: Wood B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11884965 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature