As they say, you are what you eat. And unfortunately, the food we eat only solidifies America’s tragic headline: We Have the lowest life expectancy among large high-income countries.

The US Food and Drug Administration is taking a number of steps to help people in the US build healthy diets — including when it comes to ultra-processed foods — and the food industry and research community should, too.

Ultra-processed foods are usually characterized by industrial processing, the presence of food additives such as flavors or colors, and nutrients intended to produce them. appetizing (sodium, added sugars and saturated fat). Research shows that ultra-processed foods are associated with diet-related diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, obesityand even dementia. These and other diet-related conditions matter at least half of all deaths in the USthat disproportionately affects black, indigenous, low-income, and rural Americans and contributes to $4.5 trillion in annual health care costs.

The clear association between ultra-processed foods and negative health outcomes is a cause for major concern. A revolutionary clinical study conducted at the National Institutes of Healthpublished in 2019, raised the worrying possibility that ultra-processed foods may actually stimulate appetite, creating a cycle of overeating and obesity. What we don’t fully understand yet is why and how.

If ultra-processed foods cause poor health, what factors are responsible? while ongoing research at NIH aims to help find out, most of the studies that dominate medical journals and newspaper headlines are observational studies that cannot fully demonstrate causation. One study found that eating more ultra-processed foods was assocd with higher rates of cancerintake has also been associated with higher rates of accidental death, raising questions about what is really causing the negative outcomes.

Some research also indicates that not all ultra-processed foods pose health risks. Nutritious foods such as wholemeal bread they may be considered ultra-processed, but they are not necessarily associated with the same negative health outcomes and have indeed been shown to be beneficial. However, the headlines would lead readers to believe that all ultra-processed foods should be avoided—an almost impossible task for average American families. In fact, up to 70% of our food supply would be considered ultra-processed based on some definitions. This leaves consumers with overly broad messages that can cause unnecessary fear and turn people away from affordable, convenient and nutritious food.

FDA is taking steps to further open public dialogue about the need to accelerate high-quality research on ultra-processed foods and help answer these important questions. In December, the FDA convenes workshop with NIH and a key focus is to identify key priorities and critical next steps for research in ultra-processed foods. During one public meeting in September, we also heard from a wide range of stakeholders about ultra-processed foods, the food additives they contain, and the potential role that food chemicals may play in chronic disease. The US Department of Agriculture has even developed a research roadmap on ultra-processed foods with experts from academia, government and industry. High-quality nutrition research, appropriate in size, duration and consumption patterns, will help us develop a clearer, science-based understanding of ultra-processed foods to inform food policy and regulatory decisions.

This research is also important to the food industry—some leading companies continue to aggressively market certain ultra-processed foods that raise nutritional concerns, even as others have joined a growing movement focused on producing and distributing nutritious foods .

It will take time to understand what characteristics of ultra-processed foods make them more risky for human health. But for some features that are disproportionately present in ultra-processed foods—sodium, added sugars, and saturated fat—there is already substantial evidence of harm when these nutrients are consumed in excess. In fact, much of the potential harm in ultra-processed foods could be offset by acting on these factors.

The FDA is not waiting to act on those characteristics of ultra-processed foods.

Most recently, we took the next step in facilitating low sodium in the food supply by issuing draft Phase II voluntary sodium reduction targets after Phase I shows encouraging progress. And, in the near future, we expect to finalize an updated definition for “healthy” statement. and we continue to work to propose nutrition labeling on the front of the package. Such food labeling efforts can provide a quick signal to help consumers quickly and easily identify foods that can help them create a healthy eating pattern.

The FDA also recognizes the clear connection between our nutrition goals and chemical safety goals. For example, in 2015, the FDA revoked the “generally recognized as safe” status of artificial trans fats. As a result, artificial trans fats were eliminated from the food supply, possibly preventing tens of thousands of cases of heart disease and stroke. Under the new Human Foods program, FDA is leveraging its scientific expertise and developing a more agile and systematic approach to evaluating chemicals in the food supply. The FDA will continue to evaluate new science, monitor the food supply, and take action when necessary.

But we cannot solve this problem alone. Researchers, public health and health care groups, advocates, industry, and the public must put combating diet-related diseases at the top of their priority list. This includes promoting high-quality nutritional research related to ultra-processed foods, as well as supporting and strengthening ongoing efforts focused on increasing the consumption of nutritious foods that are limited in sodium, added sugars, and saturated fat. In one way or another, we should all be invested in the health of our country.

Robert M. Califf, MD, is the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Haider Warraich, MD, is the Chief Clinical Advisor for Chronic Diseases to the FDA Commissioner. Jim Jones is Deputy Commissioner for the Human Foods Program.