The RESTRUCTURE team recently presented the project outcomes at the world’s largest nutrition conference, the 23rd International Congress of Nutrition (ICN-IUNS), held in Paris, France, between the 24th and 29th of August. The RESTRUCTURE project was invited to host a symposium on the study findings, entitled “Ultra-Processed Foods and Energy Balance, More Than Just Food Composition?”, chaired by project partners Nina McGrath (EUFIC) and Emeritus Prof. Kees de Graaf (WUR).

The symposium was opened by Dr. David Mela, who provided an introduction on why this question matters, addressing the need for less speculation and more hypothesis-driven research to inform future debates on the role of processed food in health. The RESTRUCTURE project was presented by Prof. Ciarán Forde and PhD candidate Marieke van Bruinessen, who outlined the background, methodology, and results of the main trial – a randomized controlled trial testing the role of meal texture and eating rate in energy intake. Findings showed that meal texture had a consistent and sustained effect on eating rate and daily average energy intake across the 14-day diet intervention period, with a net reduction of 369 kcal in daily energy consumed on the slower UPF diet. Prof. Edith Feskens (WUR) concluded the session by describing the implications of these findings in the wider UPF debate and reflecting on what is next for research on ultra-processed foods. The session concluded with an interactive panel discussion and a capacity audience.

Findings from the main RESTRUCTURE trial will be published soon. For more information on the trial rationale, protocol, and hypotheses, please review the recent publication: https://doi.org/10.1111/nbu.70027