Acute Effects of Ultra-processed Versus Unprocessed Foods on Glucocorticoid Secretion in Healthy Individuals

Obesity is one of the most serious health problems of the 21st century, with ultra-processed diets being a major driver of the current obesity pandemic. Understanding how these diets affect body weight is critical to identifying new treatment targets. Current evidence suggests that the degree of food processing may affect cortisol secretion, a hormone that plays a key role in body weight regulation by increasing with acute food intake and promoting energy storage in adipose tissue. However, whether ultra-processed foods enhance cortisol response has not been thoroughly investigated. Here, the investigators aim to understand the reaction of GCs in response to different processed foods in healthy volunteers. No medication will be used in this study. Participants will be asked to refrain from strenuous physical activity and alcohol consumption for 24 hours prior to the study. They will fast for 12 hours before consuming a high-calorie, low-processed meal. After fasting again, participants will consume a high-calorie, ultra-processed meal on a second study day. The order of the meals is not fixed. The study will include a screening visit and two study visits.