Ultra-processed food addiction is increasingly recognised in research, yet targeted treatment options remain limited. Our Liberate feasibility study suggests an online, peer-supported, psychoeducational intervention may be a feasible and acceptable way to support people who identify with ultra-processed food addiction.
Many people who struggle with ultra-processed foods are told to "just eat less" or "try everything in moderation." But for some, the experience feels very different. They describe cravings, loss of control, repeated failed attempts to cut down, and continued eating despite harm. These are not simply problems of knowledge or motivation; they may reflect addictive-like eating patterns.
This blog summarises findings from our recently published Liberate feasibility and acceptability study, which explored whether an online, peer-supported, psychoeducational intervention could support people experiencing ultra-processed food addiction.
What is ultra-processed food addiction?
Ultra-processed food addiction (UPFA) describes a pattern of compulsive eating. People who experience it often report intense cravings and a sense of losing control around certain foods. They may find they need increasing amounts to achieve the same effect, experience withdrawal-like symptoms when cutting back, and continue eating despite negative impacts on their health, mood or daily life.
UPFA is not yet formally recognised as a diagnosis in the DSM-5 or ICD-11. However, researchers and clinicians can still measure and assess it using validated tools such as the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (YFAS) and the CRAVED screening tool. These tools help identify and track addictive-like eating patterns.
It is important to remember that this is not about blaming individuals. It is about recognising that some people experience a pattern that looks and feels more like an addiction than simply overeating. That distinction matters because it can influence the type of support they need.
Why this study was needed
Evidence around UPFA has grown considerably in recent years, but interventions designed specifically for it remain scarce.
Current clinical pathways often focus on weight management, eating disorder frameworks, or general dietary advice. These may help some people, but they may not fully meet the needs of those who identify with addictive-like responses to ultra-processed foods. Telling someone with addictive-like eating patterns to "eat everything in moderation" can be like telling someone with alcohol use disorder to simply drink less.
People need safe, non-shaming, practical support that addresses the brain, behaviour, the food environment, identity and social support, not just calories or weight.
What is Liberate?
This is where Liberate comes in. Liberate is an online psychoeducational programme with peer-to-peer support, designed to help people reduce symptoms of ultra-processed food addiction and improve their wellbeing.
The programme combines:
- Education about addiction and the brain
- Peer support and accountability
- Psychological tools and coping strategies
- Personalised dietary changes
- An individualised approach to abstinence or harm reduction
- Support to identify personal trigger foods using a traffic-light approach
Importantly, Liberate was not designed primarily as a weight-loss programme. Its focus is on reducing ultra-processed food addiction symptoms and improving wellbeing.
How was the study conducted?
The study was a single-group, pre–post mixed-methods feasibility study with a 6-month follow-up. Participants completed measures of UPFA symptoms (YFAS), cravings and behaviours (CRAVED), mental wellbeing (WEMWBS), and weight and BMI. A smaller group also took part in interviews to explore how acceptable the programme felt to those taking part.
What outcomes improved?
Participants showed statistically significant improvements across the main outcome measures:
- Yale Food Addiction Scale scores reduced from 7.8 at baseline to 4.4 at 6-month follow-up
- CRAVED scores reduced from 5.1 to 3.7
- mental wellbeing (WEMWBS) scores increased from 41.9 to 47.4
- weight and BMI also improved, although weight change was not the main aim and was clinically small
The most interesting finding was not simply that people lost a small amount of weight. It was that food addiction symptoms reduced, wellbeing improved, and many participants described feeling less alone, less ashamed and more able to understand their behaviour. Crucially, improvements in UPFA symptoms and wellbeing were sustained at 6-month follow-up.
What mattered most to participants?
The interviews revealed several themes that participants felt were important to their recovery:
- Feeling psychologically safe
- Feeling understood rather than judged
- Learning "it's not my fault"
- Understanding the role of the brain and addiction mechanisms
- Valuing peer support
- Developing hope
- Gaining confidence in managing symptoms
- Wanting healthcare professionals to be able to refer people to Liberate
For many participants, the most powerful shift was moving from shame to understanding.
One message stood out as particularly memorable and validating:
The addiction isn't your fault, but it is your responsibility to recover.
Why do abstinence and harm reduction both matter?
Liberate recognised that different people need different approaches. Some participants chose to avoid specific trigger foods completely, while others focused on reducing their impact in a way that felt realistic and sustainable.
This matters because many conversations about food assume that moderation is always the best approach. However, for some people with ultra-processed food addiction, moderation can feel exhausting, destabilising or simply unworkable.
Others may prefer a harm-reduction approach. The key point is that people should be supported to make informed choices about what works best for them, rather than being forced into a single model.
What this does and does not prove
It is important to be balanced here. This study suggests Liberate is feasible and acceptable, and that the outcomes are promising. However, because there was no control group, it cannot prove that Liberate caused the changes. A randomised controlled trial is needed to test effectiveness, long-term outcomes and scalability more robustly, and the paper itself concludes exactly that.
Why this matters for healthcare professionals
Healthcare professionals are likely already meeting people who feel addicted to ultra-processed foods, even if those people do not use that language themselves.
- Ask about loss of control, cravings and repeated failed attempts to cut down
- Avoid shame-based language
- Consider screening tools such as YFAS or CRAVED
- Recognise that weight alone does not identify UPFA, people of any body size may be affected
- Discuss abstinence, moderation and harm reduction as options
- Signpost to appropriate support
Conclusion
Ultra-processed food addiction is not simply a failure of willpower for some people. It can be a deeply distressing pattern involving cravings, loss of control, shame and repeated relapse.
The Liberate study suggests that when people are offered education, peer support, psychological safety and personalised food boundaries, they may begin to move from shame to understanding, and from understanding towards recovery.
Further research is needed, but these findings offer an important first step towards building compassionate, addiction-informed support for people experiencing symptoms of ultra-processed food addiction.
For healthcare professionals, this may mean moving away from asking, “Why can’t this person just stop?” and instead asking, “What kind of support might help this person recover?”
If this sounds like your experience, you are not weak, greedy or broken.
Recovery may begin with understanding what is happening in your brain and body.
Join our free webinar on 25 August at 6pm (UK time) to learn more about Liberate and ask any questions you may have: https://www.PHCuk.org/webinar
Reference
Bennett EB, Lycett D, Whelan M, Bellamy EL, Banks S, Patel R. A feasibility and acceptability study of Liberate: an online, peer-supported, psychoeducational intervention for ultra processed food addiction. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2025;16:1620372. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1620372.