Americans derive 55 percent of their daily calories from ultraprocessed foods, and a new 50-year analysis from the University of Michigan links these foods to binge eating, which can elevate blood sugar, blood pressure, and harmful cholesterol levels leading to artery blockages. Between 1973 and 2023, research revealed that a staggering 70 percent of foods consumed during binge episodes were ultraprocessed, while only 15 percent were minimally processed, such as fruits and vegetables. It was rare for individuals to binge solely on minimally processed foods.
Blind Spot in Eating Disorder Research
The findings indicate a significant oversight in eating disorder research, according to the Michigan authors. The types of foods involved in binge eating episodes have largely been disregarded. "Binge eating did not begin appearing in the scientific literature until the 1970s, around the same time highly processed foods became increasingly dominant in the food environment. Yet, eating disorder research has rarely examined how the foods themselves might contribute to binge eating," the researchers stated.
Link to Rising Binge Eating Disorder
This connection could explain why binge eating has become the most common eating disorder in the United States. Kristin Javaras, an assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, noted in 2024 that there is a 1 to 3 percent chance of developing the condition. Binge eating can lead to weight gain, obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, gallbladder disease, and depression, according to the University of Southern California's Keck Medicine.
Common Binge Foods
The most frequently binged ultraprocessed foods across the decades include cake, ice cream, cookies, chocolate, pastries, pizza, and chips. These foods are engineered with refined carbohydrates and fats that make them easy to overconsume, the researchers note. It remains unclear whether the foods are binged due to psychological factors, their manufacturing process, or a combination of both.
Ashley Gearhardt, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan, commented, "These findings raise an important question: if the same types of foods keep showing up in binge episodes, we have to ask whether they are simply being over-consumed or whether they are designed in ways that promote that pattern of use." Gearhardt was part of previous research indicating that many Generation X and Baby Boomer adults exhibit signs of addiction to ultraprocessed foods.
Graduate student Lucy Loch added, "Today's older adults were in a key developmental period when our nation's food environment changed." Currently, these products are high in salt, sugar, and fat, constituting more than half of the U.S. diet according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 73 percent of the country's food supply according to Northeastern University.
