Ultra-processed food addiction in older US adults with Lucy Loch

In this episode, Dr Tsen Vei Lim speaks to Lucy Loch, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan, US. The interview covers Lucy’s research article on ultra-processed food addiction in a nationally representative sample of older adults in the US.

• What are ultra-processed foods? [01:18]
• Ultra-processed food addiction and its relation to other behavioural addictions [02:12]
• The addictive features of ultra-processed food [03:01]
• The relationship between ultra-processed foods and obesity [03:50]
• The motivation for the study [04:37]
• The key findings of the study [05:24]
• Socioeconomic inequality as a potential predictor for ultra-processed food addiction [06:49]
• Should we avoid ultra-processed foods? [07:20]
• The main takeaways from the findings [08:35]
• Suggestions for policymakers to regulate ultra-processed foods [10:56]
• The clinical recognition of ultra-processed food addiction as an addiction [11:54]
• The next steps in Lucy’s research [12:22]

About Tsen Vei Lim: Tsen Vei is an academic fellow supported by the Society for the Study of Addiction, currently based at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. His research integrates computational modelling, experimental psychology, and neuroimaging to understand the neuropsychological basis of addictive behaviours. He holds a PhD in Psychiatry from the University of Cambridge (UK) and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Bath (UK).

About Lucy Loch: Lucy is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan (US), mentored by Dr. Ashley Gearhardt and Dr. Julie Lumeng. Her research examines the life course development of addictive-like eating, focusing on how early experiences and exposure to ultra-processed foods shape appetite, self-regulation, and risk of later life health outcomes. Supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, she integrates developmental and addiction science to understand vulnerability to addictive-like eating. Her work has been published in Addiction, Current Obesity Reports, and Physiology & Behavior.

Original article: Ultra-processed food addiction in a nationally representative sample of older adults in the USA https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70186

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