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Doctor and scientist Carlos Monteiro observed that obesity and tooth decay were blooming out of control in poor rural Brazilian communities. After observation and analysis, he concluded that ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are causing these escalating health issues, rather than any other individually identifiable factors like foods being high in fats or sugars. Monteiro created a category scale and called these foods Group 4. This is how they are described:

“The final category, group 4, is unlike any of the others. Group 4 foods tend to consist largely of the sugars, oils and starches from group 2, but instead of being used sparingly to make fresh food more delicious, these ingredients are now transformed through colours, emulsifiers, flavourings and other additives to become more palatable. They contain ingredients unfamiliar to domestic kitchens such as soy protein isolate (in cereal bars or shakes with added protein) and “mechanically separated meat” (turkey hotdogs, sausage rolls). read more