Khaberni - Up to 21% of Generation X women show signs of addiction to ultra-processed and manufactured foods, a percentage significantly higher than that found in other generations.
Generation X includes individuals born between 1965 and 1980, with 10% of men from this generation showing signs of addiction to ultra-processed foods.
Similarly, the older generation, the Baby Boomer generation, met the same criteria for addiction to ultra-processed foods.
Fats, salt, and sugar
It appears that these products - made with high levels of fats, salt, and sugar to increase their appeal - find substantial popularity among the older generation, now aged in their fifties to early sixties, who have consumed them widely since childhood.
According to "Health Day", the research team from the University of Michigan used the Yale Food Addiction Scale, a tool that relies on criteria used to diagnose substance use disorders.
Addiction Scale
This scale evaluates experiences such as: intense cravings to eat, repeated attempts to quit, and withdrawal symptoms when ultra-processed foods are the attraction.
Key examples of these foods include fast foods, sugary drinks, and packaged snacks.
Early exposure
The researchers attribute this rise to the early and intense exposure of this generation to ultra-processed foods.
The researchers warn that the high rates of addiction to these foods in the age group 50 to 64 years raise urgent concerns about future generations, as children and teenagers today consume more ultra-processed foods than Generation X did in their youth, when these foods began to invade the food scene in the 1970s and 1980s.
