The European Space Agency last week showed previously unthinkable images of the universe 10 billion light-years away, captured by the Euclid telescope, with galaxies filled with stars and an evocative nebula in which a horse And the mind leaves everyday life to wander through that infinity. But then, he falls back into the prosaic reality.
Not to mention politics, parents worried about their children's excessive use of mobile phones should know that this is not the only addiction they have to fight, a social problem to be solved. One in eight minors (12%) is addicted to ultra-processed foods (industrial pastries, salty and sweet snacks, chocolates, many pre-cooked foods and breakfast cereals...) 14% of adults are also addicted. This is what a review study of 280 more warns, published in the British Medical Journal by several researchers, among them, Susana Jiménez and Fernando Fernández-Aranda, from the Idibell-hospital in Bellvitge (l'Hospitalet) and who have been analyzing and they treat different addictions.
The study qualifies ultra-processed foods as addictive because they are rich in refined carbohydrates and, at the same time, in fats, they are quickly absorbed, they contain flavorings that reinforce the taste of taking them and they immediately generate dopamine in the brain like tobacco or 'alcohol, creating a similar dependence. Experts warn of the problem when it comes to food and is usually cheaper than fresh food and, therefore, more affordable for the most disadvantaged classes. They also see this addiction in half of people with eating disorders, which further complicates their treatment, and in one in three people with obesity who turn to bariatric surgery.
The researchers call for measures to restrict the consumption of ultra-processed foods, such as limiting their advertising, applying additional fees or even labeling them as addictive. It is not only this study that underlines how unhealthy these foods are, they are in the spotlight in several countries, but any regulatory measures are slow, laborious to push with the powerful food industry reluctant to go beyond the self-regulation Just like the tech giants. Euclid, look for us in the universe another less complex world.
