A new feature section that will be published in the July issue of the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) presents one of the most comprehensive examinations to date of ultra-processed food (UPF) as a public health crisis shaped not only by nutrition, but by corporate practices, political influence, and regulation failures.
The collection of editorials, analytic essays, and research articles adds to the growing body of evidence linking UPF consumption to chronic disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer, dementia, and premature death. The feature section also breaks new ground by examining how major tobacco companies helped build and scale the modern UPF industry, and by outlining what many public health experts say must come next: coordinated government intervention, stronger regulatory oversight, legal accountability, and greater protections for children from aggressive marketing and harmful food environments.