Fat, Sugar, Salt ... You’ve Been Thinking About Food All Wrong | WIRED

Scientists are asking tough questions about the health effects of ultra-processed diets. The answers are complicated—and surprising.

Save this story Save this story In the late 2000s, Carlos Monteiro noticed something strange about the food that Brazilian people were eating. The nutritionist had been poring over three decades’ worth of data from surveys that asked grocery shoppers to note down every item they bought. In more recent surveys, Monteiro noticed, Brazilians were buying way less oil, sugar, and salt than they had in the past. Despite this, people were piling on the pounds. Between 1975 and 2009 the proportion of Brazilian adults who were overweight or obese more than doubled. This contradiction troubled Monteiro.

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