Why is junk food harder to avoid for poor families, and who gets sicker?

"Higher UPF intake was consistently associated with poorer diet quality and increased risk of obesity and cardiometabolic outcomes."

"While the dietary share of ultra-processed foods depends on a country's economic status, food choice and consumption are also influenced by the socioeconomic situation of individuals."

"changes in government benefits such as SNAP/EBT, student loan relief, or child care credits, the availability of credit, interest rates, inflation, disinflation or deflation, tax rates, tariffs and other matters could reduce consumer spending."

"Food budgets in poverty were insufficient to ensure optimum diets."

"Geographic and sociodemographic disparities in UPF consumption contribute to diet-related health inequities in the United States."

"The industry continues to be shaped by e-commerce, cooking at home and prepared foods to go and other customer needs and preferences."

"Inflation could materially affect our operating results through increases to our cost of goods, supply chain costs and labor costs."

"intense and ever-increasing competition ranging from online retailers, mass merchants, club stores, regional chains, deep discounters, dollar stores, and ethnic, specialty and natural food stores."

"A deterioration in overall economic conditions, including uncertainty caused by inflation rate volatility, could adversely affect our business in many ways, including reducing sales and gross margins."

"SNAP participation was also associated with higher intakes of ultra-processed foods (adjusted mean: 54.7%), compared with income-eligible participants (adjusted mean: 53.0%)."

"Among income-eligible nonparticipants, adults with very low food security consumed 5.4% more of their energy intake from ultra-processed foods than adults with high food security ( P = 0.0002)."

"SNAP benefits are distributed via Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, which can be used to purchase most foods and beverages, with the exception of hot or prepared foods, alcohol, and dietary supplements."

"our study revealed that food insecurity disproportionately affected US-born Hispanics, Blacks, and multi-racial individuals, highlighting significant disparities among these groups. The observed disparity in food insecurity among US-born minority groups stems from economic challenges, including lower income levels and limited employment opportunities [ 13 , 31 ]. Additionally, structural issues su"

"New immigrants may experience the highest levels of food insecurity, likely due to challenges such as limited financial resources, unfamiliarity with the US food systems, language barriers, and limited access to social network support [ 2 , 11 , 12 , 14 , 15 ]."

"food insecurity is most prevalent among new immigrants, decreases after 5–14 years of residency in the US, and then rises again after 15 years [ 12 ]. ... The subsequent rise in food insecurity could be linked to factors such as aging, health-related challenges, and economic stagnation [ 29 , 30 ]."

"High risk to food insecurity among multi-racial groups may be due to experiences with discrimination and social exclusion [ 34 , 35 ] which may affect their economic opportunities and access to food. Previous studies suggest that perceived discrimination is a significant predictor of food insecurity [ 36 , 37 , 38 ]."

"These factors are further compounded by intergenerational poverty, which fosters inequalities in wealth and education that put more households at risk of food insecurity [ 32 ]"

"The new waivers will restrict the purchase of so-called "junk food" with SNAP funds in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Colorado, Florida and West Virginia starting in 2026."

"On average, according to USDA data , SNAP served 42.1 million people per month in 2023, which accounts for more than 12.5% of the population."

""SNAP is a supplemental nutrition program meant to provide health food benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget so they can afford the nutritious food essential to health and well-being," Rollins said."

"Kennedy added, "For years, SNAP has used taxpayer dollars to fund soda and candy -- products that fuel America's diabetes and chronic disease epidemics. These waivers help put real food back at the center of the program and empower states to lead the charge in protecting public health.""

"ABC News medical correspondent Dr. Darien Sutton said "there's no evidence that taking away access to soda will actually fight these conditions." ... "The U.S. dietary guidelines recommend that men have no more than 35 grams and women no more than 25 grams per day," Sutton said."

"USDA is empowering states with greater flexibility to manage their programs by approving SNAP Food Restriction Waivers that restrict the purchase of non-nutritious items like soda and candy."

"The highest UPF consumers included more males and people born in Australia than the lowest consumers."

"On June 22, 2026, the US District Court for the District of Columbia, in Aragon et al. v. Rollins et al., 1:26-cv-00861 (D.D.C.), ordered that FNA's approval of the waiver be vacated and that the waiver’s implementation may not proceed."

"Trade associations representing grocery retailers and beverage manufacturers argue that such bans could be difficult and expensive to implement at the point of sale, and that the policy overstates the role of soft drinks in obesity compared to other factors."

"finds a 13% decrease in soda purchases within the first two months, with even larger decreases in the poorest households (18.5%)."

"Positive associations were observed for all cancers: HR for continuous variable 1.03, 95% CI (1.01, 1.05); Q5 vs Q1HR 1.09, 95% CI (1.02, 1.16)"

"Restricts all taxable food items as defined by the Iowa Department of Revenue except food producing plants and seeds for food producing plants."

"Supporters of the waivers, including Trump administration officials and some public-health advocates, argue that excluding soda, candy and other sugary products would better align SNAP with the program's nutrition goals and could help reduce diet-related disease."

"obesity-related cancers: HR for continuous variable 1.04, 95% CI (1.01, 1.08); Q5 vs Q1HR 1.10, 95% CI (1.00, 1.22)"

"Restricts purchase of processed foods and beverages such as soda, energy drinks, and candy."

"Without states requesting waivers, such a restriction would need Congress"

"Some economists have argued that SNAP participants would just use their own money to buy sugary drinks. This study found that they did not."

"In March 2026, Reuters reported that five SNAP recipients sued USDA in federal court over the waivers. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs argued that the restrictions destabilized food access, created confusion at checkout, and exceeded USDA's legal authority."

"Limiting the consumption of UPF may reduce cancer risk."

"En sus estudios ha vinculado la comida industrial con la obesidad e introdujo la denominada clasificación alimentaria "Nova" de relevancia mundial."

"Monteiro y su equipo desarrollaron la clasificación Nova, que se utiliza en todo el mundo para medir el creciente consumo de alimentos ultraprocesados."

"A partir de su clasificación, casi un centenar de estudios ha relacionado los alimentos ultraprocesados con un mayor riesgo de sufrir todo tipo de dolencias: diabetes, obesidad, enfermedades gastrointestinales, renales, respiratorias, incluso depresión."

"Su campo principal de investigación ha sido la salud pública en las zonas subdesarrolladas de Brasil y la prevención de la obesidad y otras enfermedades de la sociedad a raíz del crecimiento de la prosperidad."