Hyperpalatable food explained

Hyperpalatable food (HPF) combines high levels of fat, sugar, sodium, and/or carbohydrates to trigger the brain's reward system, encouraging excessive eating.[1] The concept of hyperpalatability is foundational to ultra-processed foods, which are usually engineered to have enjoyable qualities of sweetness, saltiness, or richness.[2] Hyperpalatable foods can stimulate the release of metabolic, stress, and appetite hormones that play a role in cravings and may interfere with the body's ability to regulate appetite and satiety.[3] [4]

Definition

Researchers have proposed specific criteria for hyperpalatability based on the percentage of calories from fat, sugar, and salt in a food item. A team at the University of Kansas analysed databases from the United States Department of Agriculture to identify the most common descriptive definitions for hyperpalatable foods. They found three combinations that most frequently defined hyperpalatable foods:[1]

  1. Foods with more than 25 percent of calories from fat plus more than 0.30 per cent sodium by weight (often including bacon, cheese, and salami).
  2. Foods with more than 20 percent of calories from fat and more than 20 per cent of calories from simple sugars (typically cake, ice cream, chocolate).
  3. Foods with more than 40 percent of calories from carbohydrates and more than 0.20 percent sodium by weight (many brands of pretzels, popcorn, and crackers).

The proportion of foods sold in the United States fitting this definition of hyperpalatable increased by twenty per cent between 1988 and 2018.[5] [6]

Neurobiology

Hyperpalatable foods have been shown to activate the reward regions of the brain, such as the hypothalamus, that influence food choices and eating behaviours.[7] When these foods are consumed, the neurons in the reward region become very active, creating highly positive feelings of pleasure so that people want to keep seeking these foods regularly. Hyperpalatable foods can also modify the release of hormones that regulate appetite, stress, and metabolism.[8]

Normally when eating a meal, appetite hormones are released from the digestive tract (e.g. glucagon-like peptide and cholecystokinin) and from fat cells (e.g. leptin), which cause feelings of fullness and communicate with the brain to stop eating.[8] If the body has not received food for several hours, ghrelin is released from the stomach to signal hunger. Eating hyperpalatable foods too often might interfere with how the brain processes these hormonal signals so that one may feel continued cravings despite having eaten enough food.[9] Animal studies have shown that brain signals can become disrupted when eating a very high sugar or high fat diet, which may trigger the release of hormones that reduce stressful emotions and therefore lead to a habitual desire for these foods.[10]

Health effects

Hyperpalatable foods are often high in calories, fat, sugar, and salt, but low in nutrients, fibre, and water.[1] These foods can contribute to excess energy intake and weight gain, as well as impair the body's ability to regulate blood sugar and blood pressure.[11] Hyperpalatable foods are also linked to increased inflammation, oxidative stress, and gut dysbiosis, which can affect the immune system and the brain.[12] Consuming hyperpalatable foods may also increase the risk of developing food addiction, a condition characterized by loss of control over eating, preoccupation with food, and continued use despite negative consequences.[13]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Fazzino . Tera L. . Rohde . Kaitlyn . Sullivan . Debra K. . 2019-11-01 . Hyper-palatable foods: Development of a quantitative definition and application to the US Food System Database . Obesity . en . 27 . 11 . 1761–1768 . 10.1002/oby.22639 . 1930-7381 . 31689013 . 207899275 . free . 1808/29721.
  2. Monteiro . Carlos A. . Cannon . Geoffrey . Levy . Renata B . Moubarac . Jean-Claude . Louzada . Maria L. C. . Rauber . Fernanda . Khandpur . Neha . Cediel . Gustavo . Neri . Daniela . Martinez-Steele . Euridice . Baraldi . Larissa G. . Jaime . Patricia C. . 2019 . Ultra-processed foods: What they are and how to identify them . Public Health Nutrition . en . 22 . 5 . 936–941 . 10.1017/S1368980018003762 . 1368-9800 . 10260459 . 30744710 . free.
  3. Bellitti . Joseph S. . Rohde . Kaitlyn . Fazzino . Tera L. . 2023-12-01 . Motives and food craving: Associations with frequency of hyper-palatable food intake among college students . Eating Behaviors . 51 . 101814 . 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2023.101814 . free . 37729846 . 262024167 . 1471-0153.
  4. Avena . Nicole M . Gold . Mark S . 2011-08-01 . Variety and hyperpalatability: Are they promoting addictive overeating? . The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition . en . 94 . 2 . 367–368 . 10.3945/ajcn.111.020164. 21715513 . free.
  5. Demeke . Saron . Rohde . Kaitlyn . Chollet-Hinton . Lynn . Sutton . Cassandra . Kong . Kai Ling . Fazzino . Tera L. . 2023-01-01 . Change in hyper-palatable food availability in the US food system over 30 years: 1988–2018 . Public Health Nutrition . en . 26 . 1 . 182–189 . 10.1017/S1368980022001227 . 1368-9800 . 9672140 . 35581172.
  6. Sutton . Cassandra A. . Stratton . Matthew . L'Insalata . Alexa M. . Fazzino . Tera L. . 2023-10-04 . Ultraprocessed, hyper-palatable, and high energy density foods: Prevalence and distinction across 30 years in the United States . Obesity . 32 . 1 . 166–175 . en . 10.1002/oby.23897 . 37794529 . 263669524 . 1930-7381. free .
  7. Fuente González . Cristina Elizabeth . Chávez-Servín . Jorge Luis . de la Torre-Carbot . Karina . Ronquillo González . Dolores . Aguilera Barreiro . María de los Ángeles . Ojeda Navarro . Laura Regina . 2022-05-18 . Relationship between emotional eating, consumption of hyperpalatable energy-dense foods, and indicators of nutritional status: a systematic review . Journal of Obesity . en . 2022 . e4243868 . 10.1155/2022/4243868 . 2090-0708 . 9132695 . 35634585 . free .
  8. Leigh . Sarah-Jane . Lee . Frances . Morris . Margaret J. . 2018-03-01 . Hyperpalatability and the generation of obesity: Roles of environment, stress exposure and individual difference . Current Obesity Reports . en . 7 . 1 . 6–18 . 10.1007/s13679-018-0292-0 . 29435959 . 3708288 . 2162-4968.
  9. Fazzino . Tera L. . Courville . Amber B. . Guo . Juen . Hall . Kevin D. . 2023-01-30 . Ad libitum meal energy intake is positively influenced by energy density, eating rate and hyper-palatable food across four dietary patterns . Nature Food . en . 4 . 2 . 144–147 . 10.1038/s43016-022-00688-4 . 37117850 . 256452459 . 2662-1355.
  10. Leon . Zoela . Shah . Krishna . Bailey . Lauren S. . Karkhanis . Anushree N. . Sirohi . Sunil . 2021 . Patterned feeding of a hyper-palatable food (Oreo cookies) reduces alcohol drinking in rats . Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience . 15 . 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.725856 . 1662-5153 . 8570261 . 34744651 . free .
  11. Bjorlie . Kayla . Forbush . Kelsie T. . Chapa . Danielle A.N. . Richson . Brianne N. . Johnson . Sarah N. . Fazzino . Tera L. . 2022-05-01 . Hyper-palatable food consumption during binge-eating episodes: A comparison of intake during binge eating and restricting . International Journal of Eating Disorders . en . 55 . 5 . 688–696 . 10.1002/eat.23692 . 35194821 . 247057080 . 0276-3478.
  12. Ribeiro . Roberta . Silva . Emanuele Guimarães . Moreira . Felipe Caixeta . Gomes . Giovanni Freitas . Cussat . Gabriela Reis . Silva . Barbara Stehling Ramos . da Silva . Maria Carolina Machado . de Barros Fernandes . Heliana . de Sena Oliveira . Carolina . de Oliveira Guarnieri . Leonardo . Lopes . Victoria . Ferreira . Cláudia Natália . de Faria . Ana Maria Caetano . Maioli . Tatiani Uceli . Ribeiro . Fabíola Mara . 2023-09-29 . Chronic hyperpalatable diet induces impairment of hippocampal-dependent memories and alters glutamatergic and fractalkine axis signaling . Scientific Reports . en . 13 . 1 . 16358 . 10.1038/s41598-023-42955-9 . 2045-2322 . 10541447 . 37773430. 2023NatSR..1316358R .
  13. Bellitti . Joseph S. . Fazzino . Tera L. . 2023-01-01 . Discounting of hyper-palatable food and money: Associations with food addiction symptoms . Nutrients . en . 15 . 18 . 4008 . 10.3390/nu15184008 . 2072-6643 . 10536694 . 37764791 . free .

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