Dr. Deirdre Tobias joins us to discuss the relationship between diet, obesity, and health, with a focus on the role of processed foods.
Dr. Tobias is an epidemiologist and Assistant Professor who specializes in nutrition, obesity, and methods. She’s affiliated with the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
This episode tackles the following questions:
- What are (ultra) processed foods?
- What do we know about the link between food processing and obesity and related diseases? What do we not yet understand?
- What are the limitations of the “whole is good and processed is bad” food rule?
- How can we translate nutrition science into actionable advice for the public?
Drs. Tobias and Davis also share practical tips for how they shop and prepare foods for their families in a way that leverages the advantages of processed foods while ensuring high nutritional value.
Links
Resources
Studies
- Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33027677/ - Eliminate or reformulate ultra-processed foods? Biological mechanisms matter https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/34699743/ - Ultra-processed food consumption and excess weight among US adults
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29729673/ - The energy balance model of obesity: beyond calories in, calories out
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35134825
