The Food Trap: How Ultra-Processed Diets Hijacked Our Biology

We’ve been told that obesity is about willpower — but what if the problem isn’t us, it’s the food itself?

In this investigation, Dr. Chris van Tulleken exposes how global food corporations engineered our diets to be addictive. From “vanishing caloric density” and sonic branding to the hidden science of texture manipulation, this episode breaks down how ultra-processed foods bypass natural satiety signals, trigger dopamine reward loops, and quietly reshape our health, metabolism, and society.

You’ll discover:
• How processed food design mimics the psychology of addiction
• Why obesity spiked globally after the 1970s
• The secret sensory science behind “irresistible” snacks
• How marketing, convenience, and profit override nutrition
• What governments and corporations don’t want to talk about

This isn’t a lecture on willpower — it’s an exposé on engineered consumption.