AwesomeCapital

Thursday, August 7, 2025

Americans Get Over Half Their Calories From Ultraprocessed Foods: CDC Report

Most Americans get more than half their calories from ultraprocessed foods

opens in a new tab or window, those super-tasty, energy-dense foods typically full of sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats, according to a new federal reportopens in a new tab or window.

Nutrition research has shown for yearsopens in a new tab or window that ultraprocessed foods make up a big chunk of the U.S. diet, especially for kids and teens.

For the first time, however, the CDC has confirmed those high levels of consumption, using dietary data collected from August 2021 to August 2023.

The report comes amid growing scrutiny of such foods by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who blames them for causing chronic disease.

"We are poisoning ourselves and it's coming principally from these ultraprocessed foods," Kennedy told Fox News earlier this year.

Overall, about 55% of total calories consumed by Americans age 1 and older came from ultraprocessed foods during that period, according to the report. For adults, ultraprocessed foods made up about 53% of total calories consumed, but for kids through age 18, it was nearly 62%.

The top sources included burgers and sandwiches, sweet baked goods, savory snacks, pizza, and sweetened drinks.

Young children consumed fewer calories from ultraprocessed foods than older kids, the report found. Adults 60 and older consumed fewer calories from those sources than younger adults. Low-income adults consumed more ultraprocessed foods than those with higher incomes.

The results were not surprising, said co-author Anne Williams, PhD, a CDC nutrition expert.

What was surprising was that consumption of ultraprocessed foods appeared to dip slightly over the past decade. Among adults, total calories from those sources fell from about 56% in 2013-2014 and from nearly 66% for kids in 2017-2018.

Williams said she couldn't speculate about the reason for the decline or whether consumption of less processed foods increased.

But Andrea Deierlein, PhD, a nutrition expert at New York University who was not involved in the research, suggested that there may be greater awareness of the potential harms of ultraprocessed foods.

"People are trying, at least in some populations, to decrease their intakes of these foods," she said.

Concern over ultraprocessed foods' health effects has been growing for years, but finding solutions has been difficult. Many studies have linked them to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, but they haven't been able to prove that the foods directly cause those chronic health problems.

One small but influential studyopens in a new tab or window found that even when diets were matched for calories, sugar, fat, fiber, and micronutrients, people consumed more calories and gained more weight when they ate ultraprocessed foods than when they ate minimally processed foods.

Research published this week in the journal Natureopens in a new tab or window found that participants in a clinical trial lost twice as much weight when they ate minimally processed foods -- such as pasta, chicken, fruits, and vegetables -- than ultraprocessed foods, even those matched for nutrition components and considered healthy, such as ready-to-heat frozen meals, protein bars, and shakes.

Part of the problem is simply defining ultraprocessed foods.

The new CDC report used the most common definition based on the four-tier Nova system developed by Brazilian researchers that classifies foods according to the amount of processing they undergo. Such foods tend to be "hyperpalatable, energy-dense, low in dietary fiber, and contain little or no whole foods, while having high amounts of salt, sweeteners, and unhealthy fats," the CDC report said.

U.S. health officials recently said there are concerns over whether current definitions "accurately capture" the range of foods that may affect health. The FDA and the Agriculture Department recently issued a request for informationopens in a new tab or window to develop a new, uniform definition of ultraprocessed foods for products in the U.S. food supply.

In the meantime, Americans should try to reduce ultraprocessed foods in their daily diets, Deierlein said. For instance, instead of instant oatmeal that may contain added sugar, sodium, artificial colors, and preservatives, use plain oats sweetened with honey or maple syrup. Read food packages and nutrition information, she suggested.

"I do think that there are less-processed options available for many foods," she said.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/primarycare/dietnutrition/116873

'Did FDA Pick the Wrong COVID Vaccine Strain Last Season?'

In Danes over age 65, the vaccine effectiveness of the JN.1-based mRNA boosters reached 70-85% against COVID-related hospitalization and 76-96% against COVID-associated death.
Effectiveness didn't wane in the 4 months after vaccination.
Despite the shift away from the JN.1 variant, effectiveness against death with Pfizer's vaccine was 91% against the KP.3.1.1 variant and 76% against the XEC variant.

JN.1-targeted mRNA boosters developed for the 2024-2025 COVID-19 season were effective and safe in Danish seniors, according to two register-based cohort studies that suggested Europe may have selected the better vaccine strain.

Among the 728,768 adults over 65 who received the BNT162b2 JN.1 booster, vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization was 70.2% and effectiveness against death was 76.2%. The 91,461 people given the mRNA-1273 JN.1 booster saw 84.9% effectiveness against hospitalization and 95.8% effectiveness against death. There was no evidence that protection waned in the 4 months after vaccination, reported researchers led by Christian Holm Hansen, PhD, of the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, Denmark, in Lancet Infectious Diseasesopens in a new tab or window.

A separate Danish study showed that the two mRNA vaccines were also safe, with no increase in adverse events of special interest, according to a report in JAMA Network Openopens in a new tab or window from Niklas Worm Andersson, MD, PhD, also of the Statens Serum Institut, and colleagues.

The U.S. and Europe took different approaches to COVID vaccination last season, with the U.S. authorizing or approving KP.2-targeted mRNA vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna and a JN.1-targeted vaccine from Novavax for the 2024-2025 campaign. A CDC analysis published earlier this yearopens in a new tab or window of the FDA-approved shots showed a 45-46% vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization in adults 65 years and older. Critical illness events, including death, were too rare for analysis of effectiveness.

"Our estimates suggest higher vaccine effectiveness than reported in the U.S. study but are broadly consistent with earlier estimates of vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization and death, both from Denmark and internationally," noted Hansen and colleagues, who suggested the differences in efficacy were "probably" a result of study design and the included patient populations. "Despite the lower vaccine effectiveness in the CDC study, both analyses showed sustained protection over 4 months, with little evidence of waning."

Efficacy Data

JN.1 -- a sublineage of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant -- rapidly became the predominant COVID strain in many countries by early 2024.

Hansen's group noted that the BNT162b2 JN.1 booster still packed a protective punch even as the circulating variants fundamentally shifted. By mid-2024, two new variants, KP.3.1.1 and XEC, had largely replaced JN.1. Despite the shift, the BNT162b2 booster delivered 71.7% effectiveness against KP.3.1.1-related hospitalization and 76.8% against XEC-related hospitalization. BNT162b2's effectiveness against death for the two variants was 90.9% and 76.3%, respectively.

"Despite a potential mismatch between the monovalent vaccines (targeting JN.1) and the predominant circulating variants (KP.3.1.1 and XEC), both vaccines were effective in preventing severe COVID-19 disease," Hansen and colleagues wrote. "The JN.1 mRNA vaccine ... effectively boosts low-to-absent pre-vaccination cross-reactive antibodies by 15.3 times against KP.3.1.1 and 11.2 times against XEC."

A close family resemblance among spike proteins may explain the JN.1 boosters' effectiveness against the variant newcomers. The variants' spikes are only four (KP.3.1.1) and five (XEC) amino acid residues off from their JN.1 parent. In contrast, JN.1's own debut during the 2023-2024 season featured more than 30 amino acid differences from the XBB.1.5 variant in that season's monovalent booster vaccine.

Earlier this year, an FDA panel unanimously recommended that COVID vaccines for the 2025-2026 seasonopens in a new tab or window should be a monovalent one in the JN.1 lineage, although members disagreed slightly about which specific strain should be included.

Hansen and colleagues analyzed vaccination data from Denmark's National Vaccination Registry and hospitalization and death data from the National Patient Registry. All had completed a primary vaccination course in 2021 and received the 2023-2024 XBB.1.5 vaccine to minimize differences between groups.

The researchers followed participants from October 2024 to January 2025. Median age was 76 years, and 54.2% were women. By the end of January 2025, 820,229 people had received a JN.1 booster. Those receiving the mRNA-1273 vaccine were generally younger, more often male, and had fewer comorbidities than those receiving the BNT162b2 booster.

Study limitations included the potential for selection bias. Most people were vaccinated within the study period's first month, leaving little unvaccinated time for analysis. Those vaccinated early may be more health-conscious with better health outcomes than those who wait to be vaccinated. In addition, the study's focus on people 65 years or older leaves questions about vaccine effectiveness in younger people.

Safety Analysis

The analysis of registry data included 1,012,400 Danes 65 years or older who received a JN.1 booster vaccine from May 2024 to March 2025, and found no significant increases in the rates of 29 adverse events of special interest to COVID-19 vaccines.

For example, the rate of ischemic cardiac events was 16% lower in the immediate post-vaccination period than in a later reference period, at 44.9 events per 100,000 person-years versus 49.2 events, respectively. Rates of deep venous thrombosis and Guillain-Barre syndrome were 20% (15.3 vs 16.9) and 43% (0.2 vs 0.3) lower, respectively. The rate of myocarditis was numerically higher, however, at 0.5 events per 100,000 person-years in the post-vaccination period, compared with 0.4 events per 100,000 person-years in the later reference period.

Researchers used individual-level data from nationwide healthcare registers in Denmark and compared adverse event rates during the 28 days after booster vaccination with rates during a reference period that began 43 days after vaccination. Adverse events were identified as the first hospital contact that had an adverse-event diagnosis. Mean age of the cohort was 66.8 years and 54.4% were women.

Study limitations include the rarity of some adverse events during follow-up, which could lead to lower statistical precision.

Disclosures

Hansen and colleagues declared no conflicts of interest.

Andersson declared no conflicts of interest. One colleague disclosed grants from the Lundbeck Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Independent Research Fund Denmark, and Sundhedsdonationer, as well as serving as a scientific advisory board member for the Vaccine Monitoring Collaboration for Europe.

Primary Source

Lancet Infectious Diseases

Source Reference: opens in a new tab or windowHansen CH, et al "Effectiveness of the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 JN.1-adapted vaccines against COVID-19-associated hospitalisation and death: a Danish, nationwide, register-based, cohort study" Lancet Infect Dis 2025; DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(25)00380-9.

Secondary Source

JAMA Network Open

Source Reference: opens in a new tab or windowAndersson NW, et al "Safety of JN.1-updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines" JAMA Netw Open 2025; DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.23557.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19vaccine/116826

US proposal calls for Hezbollah to disarm by end of year, Israel to withdraw from Lebanon: report

The US has presented a plan calling for Hezbollah’s full demilitarization by the end of the year, along with Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon, officials said.

Lebanese lawmakers are reviewing the plan submitted Thursday by President Trump’s envoy, Tom Barrack, which seeks to “extend and stabilize” the fragile cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel following last year’s war.

“The urgency of this proposal is underscored by the increasing number of complaints regarding Israeli violations of the current ceasefire, including airstrikes and cross-border operations, which risk triggering a collapse of the fragile status quo,” the proposal read, according to Reuters.

The document calls on Beirut to publicly announce its commitment to disarm Hezbollah by Dec. 31, 2025, which would be partnered with Israel ending all ground, air and sea military operations in Lebanon.

The Jewish state currently controls five points in the nation’s southern half, with Israeli officials reiterating that the buffer was needed to hinder attacks from the Iran-backed terror group.

The second phase of the proposal required Lebanon to oversee the disarmament process within 60 days, with the lawmakers tasked with providing a detailed plan for the army to take control of all the weapons.

Under this phase, Israel would begin withdrawing its forces from the five points, with the Jewish state also agreeing to free Lebanese prisoners who were taken into custody during last year’s war, a process that will be overseen by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The next phase, to be completed within 90 days, would see the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces, with a financial plan put in place to help rebuild the infrastructure destroyed during the war.

By phase four, the US plan calls for all of Hezbollah’s heavy weapons, including missiles and drones, to be dismantled.

After all the heavy weapons are forfeited, the US will convene with France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other ally nations to “implement President Trump’s vision for the return of Lebanon as a prosperous and viable country.”

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had called on the military this week to develop a plan to oversee the restriction of arms for Hezbollah, whose war with Israel devastated the country’s southern half.

Hezbollah — which had suffered thousands of losses in the conflict with Israel, including the death of its founder Hassan Nasrallah and the majority of its top brass — has repeatedly rejected all calls for it to demilitarize.

The terror group warned Beirut that it would not acknowledge any such orders from the government, warning lawmakers that they were committing a “grave sin,” according to the AFP.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.

https://nypost.com/2025/08/07/world-news/us-calls-for-hezbollah-to-disarm-by-years-end-israel-to-withdraw-from-lebanon/

Two US Senators probe UnitedHealth over alleged nursing home incentives

U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren have initiated an investigation into UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) regarding claims that the healthcare giant secretly provided bonuses to nursing homes to reduce hospital transfers for ill residents.

In a letter dated August 6 addressed to UnitedHealth CEO Stephen Hemsley, the senators requested comprehensive information about the company’s alleged incentive programs and their effects on nursing home residents. They have asked for responses by September 8.

The investigation follows a May report by the UK’s Guardian newspaper, which claimed UnitedHealth made undisclosed payments to nursing homes as part of cost-cutting measures. According to the Guardian’s investigation, these tactics saved the company millions of dollars but potentially endangered residents’ health in some cases.

When the allegations first surfaced in May, UnitedHealth stated that the U.S. Department of Justice had already investigated these claims, interviewed witnesses, and collected thousands of documents that reportedly showed "significant factual inaccuracies" in the allegations.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/two-us-senators-probe-unitedhealth-104152133.html