Ultra-processed foods make up 40 percent of meals served in German households, according to nutrition experts cited by Deutschlandfunk.
These products, including frozen pizza, chips, sausages and processed cheese, are engineered to be „überlecker“ with enhanced taste and mouthfeel, driving overconsumption through food design, packaging, convenience and aggressive marketing.
Health experts warn that such foods contribute to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, depression and reduced life expectancy due to high levels of sugar, salt and fat, and low levels of fiber, minerals and vitamins.
Processing may likewise promote the formation of harmful substances like acrylamide, further increasing health risks.
Matthias Riedl, an obesity specialist in Hamburg, calls UPF „Fakefood“: it looks and tastes like food but delivers none of the nutritional value of real meals, describing it as „inhaltlich leer“ — nutritionally empty.
For more on this story, see German Nutrition Society warns ultra-processed foods make up 40% of German diet, urges 30g daily fiber intake to combat obesity and disease.
He singles out chemical additives as the „Allerschlimmste“ (worst aspect), arguing the human body struggles to process them effectively.
Mathias Fasshauer, a nutrition scientist at Justus Liebig University Giessen, states there is „very, very good evidence“ that UPF are a major driver of the global rise in obesity over recent decades.
Although, the health risks remain contested in scientific circles. Thomas Henle, professor of food chemistry at TU Dresden, rejects the blanket criticism, asserting no food is inherently healthy or unhealthy, and calling the claim that UPF generally harm health „scientific nonsense.“
Martin Smollich, a nutrition medic at Schleswig-Holstein University Hospital, echoes this view, stating in a guest article for Deutsches Ärzteblatt that a total avoidance of UPF is not justified by current data and lacks nutritional sense.
The debate centers on whether processing itself is harmful or whether risks stem solely from nutrient profiles high in sugar, salt and fat — a distinction with major implications for public health guidance and food regulation.
Are ultra-processed foods inherently unhealthy, or is it their nutritional content that poses the risk?
Sources disagree: some experts argue processing creates unique dangers like additive toxicity and disrupted satiety, while others maintain only the high sugar, salt and fat content matters, not the degree of processing.
What makes ultra-processed foods so difficult to resist despite known health concerns?
They are designed for maximum palatability through food science, combined with convenient packaging, widespread availability, time savings and heavy marketing — factors that override health considerations for many consumers.
