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Hyperpalatable food

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Hyperpalatable foods combined in a cheeseburger

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

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HPF research employs "descriptive terms (e.g., fast foods, sweets), which are not standardized and lack specificity".[1] 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% of calories from fat plus more than 0.30% sodium by weight (often including bacon, cheese, and salami).
  2. Foods with more than 20% of calories from fat and more than 20% of calories from simple sugars (typically cake, ice cream, chocolate).
  3. Foods with more than 40% of calories from carbohydrates and more than 0.20% 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 20% between 1988 and 2018.[5][6]

Neurobiology

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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

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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

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d 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. 27 (11): 1761–1768. doi:10.1002/oby.22639. hdl:1808/29721. ISSN 1930-7381. PMID 31689013. S2CID 207899275.
  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. 22 (5): 936–941. doi:10.1017/S1368980018003762. ISSN 1368-9800. PMC 10260459. PMID 30744710.
  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. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2023.101814. ISSN 1471-0153. PMID 37729846. S2CID 262024167.
  4. ^ Avena, Nicole M; Gold, Mark S (2011-08-01). "Variety and hyperpalatability: Are they promoting addictive overeating?". The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 94 (2): 367–368. doi:10.3945/ajcn.111.020164. PMID 21715513.
  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. 26 (1): 182–189. doi:10.1017/S1368980022001227. ISSN 1368-9800. PMC 9672140. PMID 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. doi:10.1002/oby.23897. ISSN 1930-7381. PMID 37794529. S2CID 263669524.
  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. 2022: e4243868. doi:10.1155/2022/4243868. ISSN 2090-0708. PMC 9132695. PMID 35634585.
  8. ^ a b 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. 7 (1): 6–18. doi:10.1007/s13679-018-0292-0. ISSN 2162-4968. PMID 29435959. S2CID 3708288.
  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. 4 (2): 144–147. doi:10.1038/s43016-022-00688-4. ISSN 2662-1355. PMID 37117850. S2CID 256452459.
  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. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2021.725856. ISSN 1662-5153. PMC 8570261. PMID 34744651.
  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. 55 (5): 688–696. doi:10.1002/eat.23692. hdl:1808/35150. ISSN 0276-3478. PMID 35194821. S2CID 247057080.
  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. 13 (1): 16358. Bibcode:2023NatSR..1316358R. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-42955-9. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 10541447. PMID 37773430.
  13. ^ Bellitti, Joseph S.; Fazzino, Tera L. (2023-01-01). "Discounting of hyper-palatable food and money: Associations with food addiction symptoms". Nutrients. 15 (18): 4008. doi:10.3390/nu15184008. ISSN 2072-6643. PMC 10536694. PMID 37764791.