'One food' worse than tobacco as leading cause of early death says health expert (2025)

Dr Chris van Tulleken, who is a specialist in infectious diseases, shared his insights on the Diary of a CEO podcast with host Steven Bartlett - and we're all probably consuming it.

A doctor has revealed a certain food could be deadlier than smoking. Dr Chris van Tulleken spoke on the Diary of a CEO podcast, hosted by Steven Bartlett, and it turns out many of us might be consuming this perilous item.

The medic, who specialises in infectious diseases and doubles as a science broadcaster for the BBC, is the twin of Dr Xand van Tulleken, another familiar TV personality seen on shows like BBC Morning Live, reports the Mirror.

Discussing his publication Ultra-Processed People, Dr Chris remarked: "For a very long time, we have been incredibly confused about what to eat.

"We've called the foods that harm us junk food and processed food - high fat, salt and sugar food. We've not had a way of labeling food even as a pandemic of disease taken over the world."

This issue isn't confined to impoverished nations but affects the UK as well. The doctor noted: "This is particularly true in low income countries and particularly true with low income people living in the UK.

"So poor diet, which means a diet high and ultra processed foods (UPF), has overtaken tobacco as a leading cause of early death on planet Earth for humans, for the animals we farm and for wild animals."

This is "because ultra-processed food is produced by food system that is the leading cause of loss of biodiversity and the second-leading cause of carbon emissions and the leading cause of plastic pollution".

He added: "About 12 years ago, the definition was developed to describe a western industrial American diet. And it was done by a team in Brazil, and much of the best work on this stuff has been done by teams in Central and South America."

He noted in nations such as Mexico, Columbia, and Brazil, obesity was virtually non-existent, but became the predominant public health issue within ten years.

"Everyone would know someone who had an amputation for type two diabetes." So what's altered?

The doctor clarified: "The only thing that has changed was the influx of, broadly an American diet of industrial processed foods. The definition was invented in 2009/2010 and we've had a decade evidence now that is very clear that it is ultra processed food that is responsible, not just for pandemic weight gain and obesity, but also for a long list of other health problems, including early death."

He suggested UPFs are as addictive as tobacco, alcohol, gambling, and drugs for some individuals, with substantial evidence backing this claim. Moreover, he cautioned "nagging" someone to quit eating junk food to lose weight and improve health isn't effective; it often "pushes people towards doing things that are harmful and generally makes them more likely to do the thing you're nagging them about".

Indeed, research has illuminated some concerning truths about diet and health.

One such study unequivocally concluded: "High UPF consumption is associated with an increased risk of a variety of chronic diseases and mental health disorders. At present, not a single study reported an association between UPF intake and a beneficial health outcome. These findings suggest that dietary patterns with low consumption of UPFs may render broad public health benefits."

Reinforcing these alarming insights, another investigation deduced: "Higher UPF consumption was associated with increased all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality risk, with multiple metabolic pathways playing mediating roles."

One viewer of the video podcast shared their own transformational experience, stating: "I cannot overstate how much Chris has changed my life in the space of just 5 months. In early June I watched a podcast in which he was a guest and he spoke about the same topic.

"Since the 6th June 2023, I've cut out ultra-processed food almost entirely from my diet. Initially I thought it'd be impossible to find foods without crap in it but it's actually been really easy. When I fancy a snack I have an apple or a few grapes, or some nuts. I have a variety of home cooked meals every night.

"For breakfast I have a 'full fat' natural yoghurt (containing just milk) and occasionally I'll have toast with an organic jam or scrambled eggs on the weekend (bread sourced from a bakery).

"The home cooked meals aren't what people would consider particularly healthy (plenty of meat, cheese, starchy foods) and I've not cut down on portion sizes. In the last five months I've gone from 112KG to 99.9 KG (as of yesterday). The only other lifestyle change I've made is to take a one-hour walk every week day. Other than this, I've done no other exercise in the last 5 months whatsoever."

You can catch the full episode of The Junk Food Doctor: "THIS Food Is Worse Than Smoking!" - Chris Van Tulleken Ultra-Processed People here.