Ultra-Processed People
Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn't Food ... and Why Can't We Stop?
Published on 2. May 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
416 pages
978-1-5291-6022-2 (ISBN)
Description
NOW WITH TWO BONUS CHAPTERS INCLUDING AN FAQ
THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
FORTNUM & MASON'S DEBUT FOOD BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024
A TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES SCIENCE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023
AN ECONOMIST, DAILY MAIL, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING and AMAZON BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONE'S BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023
Chosen by the SUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN, FT and DAILY MAIL as one of their BEST SUMMER BOOKS OF 2023
As seen on Chris' BBC documentary about ultra-processed foods, Irresistible: Why We Can't Stop Eating'
'Clearly a brilliant book' James O'Brien
'If you only read one diet or nutrition book in your life, make it this one' Bee Wilson
'A devastating, witty and scholarly destruction of the shit food we eat and why' Adam Rutherford
---
An eye-opening investigation into the science, economics, history and production of ultra-processed food.
It's not you, it's the food.
We have entered a new 'age of eating' where most of our calories come from an entirely novel set of substances called Ultra-Processed Food, food which is industrially processed and designed and marketed to be addictive. But do we really know what it's doing to our bodies?
Join Chris in his travels through the world of food science and a UPF diet to discover what's really going on. Find out why exercise and willpower can't save us, and what UPF is really doing to our bodies, our health, our weight, and the planet (hint: nothing good).
For too long we've been told we just need to make different choices, when really we're living in a food environment that makes it nigh-on impossible. So this is a book about our rights. The right to know what we eat and what it does to our bodies and the right to good, affordable food.
Number 1 Sunday Times bestseller, August 2023
THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
FORTNUM & MASON'S DEBUT FOOD BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024
A TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES SCIENCE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023
AN ECONOMIST, DAILY MAIL, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING and AMAZON BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONE'S BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023
Chosen by the SUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN, FT and DAILY MAIL as one of their BEST SUMMER BOOKS OF 2023
As seen on Chris' BBC documentary about ultra-processed foods, Irresistible: Why We Can't Stop Eating'
'Clearly a brilliant book' James O'Brien
'If you only read one diet or nutrition book in your life, make it this one' Bee Wilson
'A devastating, witty and scholarly destruction of the shit food we eat and why' Adam Rutherford
---
An eye-opening investigation into the science, economics, history and production of ultra-processed food.
It's not you, it's the food.
We have entered a new 'age of eating' where most of our calories come from an entirely novel set of substances called Ultra-Processed Food, food which is industrially processed and designed and marketed to be addictive. But do we really know what it's doing to our bodies?
Join Chris in his travels through the world of food science and a UPF diet to discover what's really going on. Find out why exercise and willpower can't save us, and what UPF is really doing to our bodies, our health, our weight, and the planet (hint: nothing good).
For too long we've been told we just need to make different choices, when really we're living in a food environment that makes it nigh-on impossible. So this is a book about our rights. The right to know what we eat and what it does to our bodies and the right to good, affordable food.
Number 1 Sunday Times bestseller, August 2023
Reviews / Votes
A brilliant book . . . a real eye-opener. The bottom line is that if we keep consuming sugar, salt and fat on the scale that we currently do, it is going to cost all of us an unconscionable fortune in the future. -- James O'Brien You've got to get this book in your life . . . Completely compelling . . . Read a page and think about it for the rest of the week -- Chris Evans A devastating, witty and scholarly destruction of the shit food we eat and why -- Adam Rutherford If you only read one diet or nutrition book in your life, make it this one. It will not only change the way you eat but the way you think about food. And it does all this without a hint of finger-wagging or body shaming. I came away feeling so much better informed about every aspect of ultra-processed food, from the way it affects the microbes in our gut to why it is so profitable to produce to why it's so hard to eat only a single bowl of Coco Pops to why any food that is marketed as 'better for you' is almost certainly not. -- Bee Wilson A wonderful and fascinating expose of ultra-processed food, edible substances with strange sounding ingredients which are manufactured by some of the wealthiest companies on the planet and which, worryingly, form an increasing part of our diet. As Chris shows, not only have these foods been formulated to ensure that we eat them constantly and without thought, but they hijack our ability to regulate what we eat, primarily by affecting our brains. And he backs up his claims with a powerful self-experiment, along with lots of rigorous and often shocking research. Reading this book will make you question what you eat and how it was produced -- Dr. Michael Mosley * BBC presenter and bestselling author of The Fast Diet * Packed with "I never knew that" moments, Ultra-Processed People is a wonderfully playful book that changed forever how I think about what I eat and why -- Hannah Fry Everyone needs to know this stuff -- Tim Spector, author of SPOON FED and FOOD FOR LIFE An engrossing, infuriating read. Ultra-Processed People makes most fictional villains look quaint. Read it and fight back! -- Rob Delaney A much-needed, eye-opening expose. Beautifully written, each page reveals hidden truths and asks you to re-think and re-connect to food in a way that has been lost for decades. Truly mind-blowing! -- Megan McCubbin The past 10 years has seen an inflection point in human history, where more people in the world are now dying of eating too much, than of eating too little. This urgent and captivating read digs deep into one of the huge reasons, the rise and rise of ultra-processed food' -- Giles YeoMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cornerstone
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
330 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5291-6022-2 (9781529160222)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Chris van Tulleken
Ultra-Processed People
Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn't Food ... and Why Can't We Stop?
E-Book
04/2023
1st Edition
Penguin (Cornerstone)
€9.99
Available for download
Person
Chris van Tulleken is an infectious diseases doctor at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London. He trained at Oxford and has a PhD in molecular virology from University College London where he is an Associate Professor. His research focuses on how corporations affect human health especially in the context of child nutrition and he works with UNICEF and The World Health Organisation on this area. As one of the BBC's leading broadcasters for children and adults his work has won two BAFTAs. He lives in London with his wife and two children.