Aging adults most at risk of ultra-processed food addiction, study found

Generation X shows higher rates of food addiction tied to ultra-processed diets. They were the first generation to grow up with supermarket aisles full of brightly packaged snacks, low-fat cookies, fast food combos and sugary drinks. Now, decades later, new research suggests that early exposure may be fueling widespread addiction-like relationships with those foods in midlife.

A study published in the journal Addiction, by University of Michigan researchers, finds that 21% of women and 10% of men in their 50s and early 60s meet the clinical definition of ultra-processed food addiction. By contrast, only 12% of women and 4% of men aged 65 to 80 — a group that first encountered mass-processed products in adulthood — show signs of the same condition.

“These findings raise urgent questions about whether there are critical developmental windows when exposure to ultra-processed foods is especially risky for addiction vulnerability,” said senior author Ashley Gearhardt, professor of psychology at U-M and director of the Food and Addiction Science & Treatment Lab.

How the study measured food addiction

Researchers analyzed survey data from more than 2,000 older Americans who participated in the U-M National Poll on Healthy Aging. Using the modified Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (mYFAS 2.0) — an assessment tool adapted from substance use disorder criteria — they measured symptoms such as:

• Strong cravings for specific foods
• Repeated failed attempts to cut back
• Withdrawal-like effects when cutting down
• Skipping social activities to avoid overeating

The “substance,” in this case, is not alcohol or nicotine, but highly engineered products such as sweets, salty snacks, fast food, and sugary drinks.

“We hope this study fills a gap in knowledge about addiction to ultra-processed foods among older adults, as measured by a well-studied and standardized scale,” said lead author Lucy  Loch, a graduate student in psychology.

Women most affected

Unlike alcohol or tobacco — substances where addiction has historically been more common in men — ultra-processed food addiction is disproportionately higher among women. One likely factor: the aggressive marketing of “diet” products in the 1980s and 1990s. 

Snack bars, low-fat frozen dinners, and other carb-heavy “weight-control” foods were heavily targeted at women, potentially reinforcing addictive eating patterns.

“Today’s older adults were in a key developmental period when our nation’s food environment changed,” said Gearhardt. “And women in particular may have been exposed to foods marketed as healthy but engineered to hook them.”

Links to health, weight, and isolation

The study also uncovered striking connections between food addiction, self-perception, and wellbeing:

• Weight perception: Women who described themselves as overweight were 11 times more likely to meet addiction criteria than peers who said their weight was “about right.” For men, the risk jumped 19-fold.
• Health status: Men in fair or poor mental health were four times more likely to meet addiction criteria, while women were nearly three times more likely. Poor physical health raised risks for both genders.
• Social isolation: Adults who reported often feeling isolated were more than three times as likely to show signs of ultra-processed food addiction.

Researchers warn that “health-washed” foods — marketed as low-fat, high-protein, or high-fiber but still engineered to drive cravings — may especially entrap those struggling with weight concerns.

“These products are sold as health foods – which can be especially problematic for those trying to reduce calories,” Gearhardt said. “This especially affects women, because of the societal pressure around weight.”

A public health warning for the future

The findings underscore a troubling generational divide: today’s middle-aged adults are the first to have lived most of their lives in a food environment dominated by ultra-processed products.

And the future could look worse. Children and teens today consume an even higher proportion of their calories from these foods than Gen X did in the 1970s and 1980s.

“If current trends continue, future generations may show even higher rates of ultra-processed food addiction later in life,” Gearhardt said. “Just as with other substances, intervening early may be essential to reducing long-term addiction risk.”

The study suggests that ultra-processed foods may act like addictive substances, with risks highest for those exposed earliest in life. For people struggling with cravings or overeating, experts recommend focusing on whole foods, limiting packaged “diet” products, and paying attention to mental health and social connections — all of which appear tied to the risk of food addiction.