Losing weight is not easy, especially when you get older. That’s why it’s best to keep your diet as simple as possible. According to new research, the most important thing is to reduce your intake of ultra-processed foods. It leads to a better metabolism and reduces appetite.
Ultra-processed foods are products that are made using industrial techniques and contain ingredients that are rarely used in the kitchen. Think of emulsifiers, flavor enhancers, colorants and preservatives. Common examples include packaged snacks, ready-made meals and some processed meat products. More and more research links high consumption of these products to poorer health.
In the United States, more than half of the daily calorie intake now consists of ultra-processed foods. This fact prompted us to investigate what happens if older people realistically eat less of it.
The study involved Americans aged 65 and older, many of whom were overweight or had metabolic risk factors such as insulin resistance or elevated cholesterol. The participants followed two different diets for eight weeks each, with a short period in between in which they resumed their usual eating habits. One diet included lean red meat, the other was vegetarian with milk and eggs. In both cases, less than 15 percent of calories came from ultra-processed foods, a sharp drop from the average.
Important detail: participants did not have to count calories, lose weight or adjust their exercise pattern. All meals and snacks were prepared and delivered by the researchers, using minimally processed ingredients as much as possible and in line with US dietary guidelines.
Lose weight naturally
During the periods with less ultra-processed food, participants naturally ate fewer calories and lost weight, including belly fat. But the effects went further than that. There were improvements in insulin sensitivity, more favorable cholesterol levels, fewer inflammatory markers and positive changes in hormones that regulate appetite and metabolism. Striking: these benefits occurred with both the meat-rich and the vegetarian diet.
This is relevant, because with a rapidly growing elderly population, maintaining metabolic health is becoming increasingly important. A better metabolism not only helps prevent diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, but also supports mobility, independence and quality of life.
At the same time, questions remain open. The study was relatively small and short-term. We do not yet know whether these improvements can actually prevent diseases in the long term. It is also unclear how feasible it is for people to structurally eat less ultra-processed food without intensive guidance and exactly which aspects of processing are the most harmful.
But one thing is clear: even at a later age, a relatively simple adjustment to the daily diet can already yield noticeable health benefits.
