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When ready meals nick scraps of time, they may also rob us of fat‑loss – according to a groundbreaking new study, at least.
The other evening I found myself perched on my kitchen floor, surrounded by grated parmesan, a pot of burnt chickpeas, and more dishes than I care to admit. I’d committed myself to a homemade Ottolenghi feast, not because I love washing-up, but because I wanted to wow the friends who’d agreed to a mid-week dinner party.
It was at a particularly sticky moment between multiple work calls and a forgotten oven timer that I began to regret my decision – a ready meal would have been easier.
But as it turns out, this wouldn’t have been a wise decision for my health – even if i’d opted for an ostensibly ‘healthy’ frozen dinner. A new landmark study tested two eight‑week diets – one composed entirely of ultra‑processed foods (UPFs), the other of minimally processed foods (MPFs), delivered to 55 participants in real‑world conditions. That would be the difference between my Ottolenghi masterpiece and a pre-made supermarket version.
Both studied diets met UK Eatwell Guide nutritional standards but diverged on processing alone, and the outcome was surprising: participants shed twice as much weight on the MPF diet (1.84 kg average) compared to the UPF diet (0.88 kg), and saw greater reductions in fat mass, visceral fat, and cravings.
Despite matching national nutritional guidelines, food processing trumped the official rulebook. As the study’s coauthor Chris van Tulleken put it, the global food system fuels obesity not just through poor nutrients, but because ultra‑processing itself alters desired health outcomes.
It’s not hard to see why we’ve succumbed to a UPF lifestyle. ‘But what about the health-conscious boom?!’ I hear you cry. Well, this might actually be an unwitting cause of our growing dependence on ultra processed products.
Given our mounting concern for wellness, we now live in an era where ‘healthy-ish’ packaged foods pepper our TikTok recipes and grocery shelves. Things like low calorie breakfast bars or labeled‑low‑fat ready meals (don’t get me started on the protein-ificiation of everything).
These products cleverly appear compliant with dietary guidelines, listing the lowest possible fat, sugar and salt. But this study reveals that our bodies seem programmed to respond differently depending on food texture and processing. Softer, calorie‑dense UPFs can train you to overeat without noticing, or feeling satisfied.
Let’s be real, most of us aren’t elite athletes with hours to cook. Life is tight and fridge space is scarce. Add on the cost of living and it’s easy to see why UPFs remain a favourable option. They’re ultimately cheap and convenient. As Dr Samuel Dicken notes, people often eat poorly not for lack of willpower, but because the food environment stacks against them.
