Dulce Sanchez

In the current globalized world, a person’s food choice is an action that is influenced by external and social factors. Social factors such as culture, community, and environment influence a person’s food choice. In New York City, the economy for food can be highly expensive or inaccessible for some consumers causing food insecurity. One food insecurity stems from food deserts in urban areas where it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food.  According to the Hunter College New York City Food Policy Center (2013), “A 2023 report from the Office of the State Comptroller highlighted a troubling statistic: approximately 800,000 households in New York experienced food insecurity between 2019 and 2021” (p.g 1). Meanwhile, the mass production and subsidies of processed foods make it accessible for anyone to purchase. Ultra-processed foods such as chips, fast foods, instant foods, etc, play a part in a daily meal for most New Yorkers. These ultra-processed food is not hard for anyone to find as you can find them everywhere. 

Processed food being accessible to people plays a huge role in New Yorkers’ diets. Research suggests (Henry Ford Health Staff, 2023) that between 60% and 90% of the standard American diet now consists of foods and beverages that are highly processed. According to Bertrand Amaraggi et al. (2024), the United States is the leading country in ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption accounting for about 60% of total daily caloric intake and roughly 60% of the American diet is made up of processed foods. An estimated 1.2 million (14.6%) New York City residents are food insecure. In 2023, food insufficiency rates were higher for Black and Hispanic New Yorkers than for white and Asian New Yorkers. Food processors are a part of many businesses such as grocery stores, convenience stores, vending machine distribution, etc. However, eating a lot of ultra-processed foods can lead to mental health instability. 

Researchers have studied that eating a lot of ultra-processed food has negatively impacted mental health including depression, anxiety, and stress. “For example, poor dietary patterns which lack essential nutrients, have a high glycaemic index and are high in added sugars may lead to adverse mental health symptoms” (Hecht et al., 2022 para.1). Foods with a high glycemic index (GI) will likely raise blood sugar quickly and may cause health issues if over consumed. Eric M. Hecht, et al. (2022) concluded a study where, “In summary, these data indicate that individuals with higher intakes of UPF report significantly more mild depression, as well as more mentally unhealthy and anxious days per month, and less zero mentally unhealthy or anxious days per month” (para.19). The overconsumption of processed food has been shown to affect a person’s internal health and mental health. 

Ultra-processed food has been linked to causing neurological damage to the nervous system. Eating a lot of processed food can increase the risk of cognitive decline such as Alzheimer’s disease, strokes, dementia, etc. However, authors of one prospective trial reported that decreasing consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFS) by at least 10%, and replacing those foods with minimally processed or whole foods, could decrease one’s risk for developing dementia by 19%, (Sterling et al., 2024 para.7). In the long term, eating a lot of ultra-processed food (UPFS) causes detrimental neurological damage to a person’s health. Decreasing the amount, even by a little, can be very healthy for your health. 

There are a lot of risk factors for a person’s mental health when it comes to the overconsumption of food. Studies show that reducing the amount of ultra-processed food (UPFS) could also reduce mental cognitive decline. The increase in consumption of UPFs is due to the growing population, urbanization, and industrialization of the United States. A lot of the processed foods we eat are highly addictive and stimulate the dopamine centers in our brains, which are associated with pleasure and reward. The psychosocial behavior towards ultra-processed foods has people craving for more, eventually creating a habit. Although it’s hard to eliminate the habit of purchasing ultra-processed food for a quick meal, there have been methods to reduce the amount. 

Unfortunately, the American diet has been weaponized to its mass destruction. Although the consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in America is at an all-time high, New Yorkers should practice eating processed food in moderation. New Yorkers should be mindful of how they eat. For example, don’t shop while hungry because it leads to making unhealthy impulse purchases. Release stress in different ways otherwise it can cause stress eating which causes depression and then the habit is hard to break. It’s a hard process to break habits in New York due to the industrialization of ultra-processed foods, but breaking from it could benefit people’s mental health.

References

AH; S. D. C. (2024). Newest updates to health providers on the hazards of ultra-processed foods and proposed solutions. The American journal of medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38342198/ 

Bertrand Amaraggi, Wood, W., Laura Guinovart Martin, Jaume Gimenez Sanchez, Yolanda Fleta Sanchez, & Andrea. (2024). Ultra-processed food staples dominate mainstream U.S. supermarkets. Americans more than Europeans forced to choose between health and cost. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.02.16.24302894

Editor, N. F. P. (2024, September 18). New York’s $10 million initiative to combat food deserts and promote healthy eating. NYC Food Policy Center (Hunter College). https://www.nycfoodpolicy.org/new-yorks-10-million-initiative-to-combat-food-deserts-and-promote-healthy-eating/ 

Hecht, E. M., Rabil, A., Martinez Steele, E., Abrams, G. A., Ware, D., Landy, D. C., & Hennekens, C. H. (2022). Cross-sectional examination of ultra-processed food consumption and adverse mental health symptoms. Public Health Nutrition, 25(11), 3225–3234. doi:10.1017/S1368980022001586

Hutchinson, S. (2023, October 29). Ultra-Processed Foods Are Sabotaging Your Diet. Here’s How To Cut Them Out. Www.henryford.com. https://www.henryford.com/blog/2023/09/ultra-processed-foods