The food we eat affects us in many ways. A recent study from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School found a link between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and an increase in the risk of depression. Ali Rogin speaks with Olivia Okereke, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School who worked on the study, to learn more.
Even though they said they controlled for confounding variables, there is definitely not enough information in this article to justify that. They made no mention of socio-economic status which seems like a big one here. Not to mention more depressed people might opt for ready-made processed food because they don’t have the energy to cook a full meal. Does anyone know where to find the full paper? I would need to see that before drawing a conclusion on this one.
Socioeconomic variables were definitely accounted for in the study:
Here’s a link to the JAMA letter: https://watermark.silverchair.com/samuthpongtorn_2023_ld_230182_1697225882.39196.pdf
Absolutely this. When I’m depressed there’s no way I have the energy to cook or clean up what I cook with. The knowledge of having something to clean while I’m feeling like shit just makes me feel more like shit.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10512104/
Not sure which one is referenced, but here’s a list from google scholar.
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2023&q=link+between+the+consumption+of+ultra-processed+foods+and+an+increase+in+the+risk+of+depression&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5