Perspective on the FDA’s New Focus

Oversimplifying a deeply systemic issue

In the recent JAMA Viewpoint by Makary & Prasad, the FDA’s renewed emphasis on food additives and ultraprocessed foods as drivers of chronic disease is a welcome public health lens—but it risks oversimplifying a deeply systemic issue.

Yes, chemically manipulated diets merit scrutiny. But attributing the crisis of chronic disease primarily to food distrac…