A new global report has flagged ultra-processed food consumption as a key factor behind declining productivity and emotional resilience among young adults, raising concerns for countries like India that are banking on a demographic dividend.
The Global Mind Health 2025 report by Washington-based Sapien Labs under the Global Mind Project presents fresh evidence that ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are not just linked to obesity, diabetes and heart disease, but are also associated with diminished emotional and cognitive functioning — particularly in the 18-34 age group.
UPFs are industrially made food with low nutritional value, typically high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) and contain additives not usually used in the kitchen, such as flavour enhancers, artificial preservatives, food colours and stabilisers.
The growing body of evidence has been linking UPFs with a number of diseases including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, certain cancers and depression.
RISING YOUTH MIND CRISIS
According to the report, 41 percent of internet-enabled young adults aged 18–34 globally are experiencing clinically significant mental health challenges. Alarmingly, young adults are now nearly four times more likely than those above 55 to report serious impairment in their ability to function productively in daily life.
The study, conducted across 85 countries in 2024 and 2025, examined patterns of UPF consumption by asking respondents to select from five frequency categories, ranging from “several times a day” to “rarely/never.”
Researchers compared two age groups: 18–34 (221,190 respondents) and 55+ (300,522 respondents).
Across the internet-enabled world, 54 percent of those aged 18–34 reported consuming ultra-processed foods regularly — defined as most days of the week or more — compared to just 26% of those aged 55 and above.
In India, while overall regular consumption remains lower than in several Western nations, the generational divide is stark.
Among Indians aged 18–34, 44 percent reported regular UPF consumption — nearly four times higher than the 11 percent reported among those above 55.
The findings echo a recent analysis in The Lancet, which identified India as one of the fastest-growing markets for ultra-processed foods over the past 15 years.
BEYOND OBESITY AND DIABETES
For years, UPFs have been primarily discussed in the context of rising rates of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The new report signals a significant shift in the public health debate.
Emerging evidence now suggests that UPFs may impair emotional regulation, cognitive control and psychological resilience. These are foundational capacities not only for individual well-being, but also for workplace productivity and broader societal stability.
The report identifies several contributors to declining mental health among young adults, including early smartphone exposure, weakened family bonds, reduced spirituality and ultra-processed food consumption.
Among these, UPFs stand out as a modifiable and policy-relevant risk factor.
After adjusting for multiple variables, the study estimates that frequent UPF consumption may account for 15–30 percent of the overall mental health burden among young adults.
Higher intake was most strongly associated with symptoms of depression, as well as difficulties with emotional and cognitive control.
Multiple previous studies across populations have similarly found that diets high in ultra-processed foods correlate with a greater risk of depressive symptoms.
Conversely, reduced UPF intake and healthier dietary patterns have been linked to improved mental health outcomes. Researchers also note that the number and complexity of chemical additives in processed foods have grown significantly over the past decades, potentially compounding their biological impact.
Importantly, the Global Mind Health 2025 study provides one of the first quantitative cross-national estimates of the aggregate mental health burden associated with increasingly frequent UPF consumption.
POLICY ACTION URGED
For India, the implications are profound. With one of the world’s youngest populations, the country’s economic aspirations depend heavily on a mentally resilient and cognitively capable workforce.
Dr. Arun Gupta, public nutrition expert and convenor of Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi), said the findings demand urgent rethinking.
“This report compels us to view ultra-processed foods not merely as contributors to obesity, but as potential drivers of declining cognitive and emotional resilience in younger populations,” he said.
“When dietary patterns begin to erode attention, emotional control and mental well-being, the issue is no longer individual choice — it becomes a matter of national human capital.”
The findings reinforce calls for stronger statutory warning labels on pre-packaged HFSS foods.
They also align with recent observations by the Supreme Court of India on clearer food labelling, as well as recommendations in the Economic Survey 2025–26 urging restrictions on advertising such products to children and adolescents.
Public health advocates argue that reforms must extend beyond labelling to include restrictions on marketing to minors, improvements in school food environments, and fiscal measures such as higher GST rates on HFSS products.
Experts also emphasise that regulatory action should not be framed as anti-industry, but as a preventive investment. By strengthening the food environment today, policymakers could avert long-term mental, social and economic costs.
