Tuesday 20 January 2026
07:45
Chris van Tulleken
Ultra-Processed Food is Feeding Us to Death
Chris takes us on a deep dive into the world of UPF – how it’s engineered to hijack our biology, why exercise and willpower can’t save us, and what it’s really doing to our bodies, our minds and, most worryingly, our children. He’ll also explore the growing movement for change. Just as we now look back in disbelief at children being exposed to passive smoke or even sold cigarettes, we may soon feel the same horror about raising them on Coco Pops, turkey dinosaurs and a food system that is feeding our kids to death. This isn’t just a talk about the problem – it’s about what we can actually do next.
Chris is an infectious diseases doctor at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London. He trained at Oxford and has a PhD in molecular virology from University College London where he is a Professor. His research focuses on how corporations affect human health especially in the context of child nutrition and he works with UNICEF and The World Health Organisation on this area. He is the author of bestseller ‘Ultra Processed People’, one of the BBC’s leading broadcasters for adults and children and creator of BBC documentary ‘Irresistible: Why We Can’t Stop Eating.’
'If you only read one diet or nutrition book in your life, make it this one'
Professor, broadcaster, author
Chris is an infectious diseases doctor at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London. He trained at Oxford and has a PhD in molecular virology from University College London where he is a Professor. His research focuses on how corporations affect human health especially in the context of child nutrition and he works with UNICEF and The World Health Organisation on this area. He is the author of bestseller ‘Ultra Processed People’, one of the BBC’s leading broadcasters for adults and children and creator of BBC documentary ‘Irresistible: Why We Can’t Stop Eating.’