Why Eating Processed Foods Might Make You Fat
- kaylakleven
- May 16, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: May 19, 2019
In this New York Times article from May about a study published in the journal Cell Metabolism, different types of food are studied to determine their effect on hunger. The study, carried out by scientists at the National Institute of Health, monitors 20 men and women who eat one of two diets for a month. They either eat a diet consisting of “highly processed” foods or “unprocessed” foods. It is titled “Why Eating Processed Foods Might Make You Fat” which got my attention, and I think would grab most readers’ attention. It turns out however, that much of the “highly processed” food is food that lots of people eat and sometimes don’t even realize could be unhealthy. So perhaps the title should have been “Why Foods You Eat All The Time Might Be Making You Fat” as some people might skip over the article thinking they don’t eat the foods so the article is not for them.
The subjects of this study lived in a research facility for four weeks. They were fed meals specific to their diet, but they were allowed to choose their own portions, or eat until they were full. The men and women were of the average age of 31 and were relatively healthy. The results were consistent and conclusive. The highly processed diet caused subjects to eat roughly 500 more calories a day and, not surprisingly, to gain weight.
The Article summarizes by stating that follow-up studies are panned to determine why the highly processed diet causes people to eat more, and why unprocessed food suppressed the hunger hormone better. This way of conclusion reaffirms the conclusions, while also reminding readers that the cause of these affects are still unknown. Concluding this way does give closure to the reader, as the results of the study are clear and unambiguous. It also gives somewhat of a cliffhanger, noting that more information may lie ahead. The reporting in this article is very unbiased. The facts in the study are very straightforward and scientific, and there is no real opinion associated with them.
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