Lawsuit Claims Ultra-Processed Foods Caused Type 2 Diabetes Diagnosis at 10 Years Old

Woman claims manufacturers conducted studies on how to use UPFs to “hack” the brain into overconsuming their products, then targeted children.

A Wisconsin woman has filed a lawsuit claiming the widespread sale and promotion of ultra-processed foods has fueled the rise in childhood obesity and metabolic diseases over recent decades.

Olivia Kreie brought the complaint (PDF) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on April 27, targeting several major food industry corporations behind popular ultra-processed food brands she says were marketed to her and her parents throughout her life.

The defendants include Kraft Heinz Company, Mondelez International Inc., Post Holdings Inc., The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo Inc., General Mills Inc., Nestlé USA Inc., Kellanova, WK Kellogg Co., Mars Inc., Conagra Brands Inc. and Unilever United States Inc.

The lawsuit alleges that those corporations are responsible for some of the most-consumed foods in the U.S., and have caused “one of the greatest threats to health and the health of children” the nation has ever faced.

Ultra-Processed Food Health Concerns

Ultra-processed foods (UFP) are mass-produced products that primarily use refined ingredients, additives and chemicals, instead of whole foods. Designed for convenience and long shelf life, they include sodas, frozen dinners, sugary cereals and many packaged snacks. Most of these products rely heavily on added sugars, saturated fats and preservatives that often offer few nutritional benefits.

Concerns have risen about the health effects of ultra-processed foods in recent years as they have become a larger and larger staple of the average American diet, particularly among children. Numerous studies have linked diets high in ultra-processed foods to increases in obesity, type 2 diabetes and other metabolic chronic health problems.

As more findings have emerged, major food manufacturers have faced a growing number of ultra-processed food lawsuits like Kreie’s, each alleging that the companies knew about the health risks associated with their products, yet continued to market and sell them without adequate warnings, putting profits ahead of public health.

Ultra-Processed Foods Type 2 Diabetes Allegations

According to her complaint, Kreie was born in 2006 and grew up during a time period that began in the 1980s, which has seen an explosion of childhood obesity and diabetes. Like many children in recent decades, she was raised on Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Hot Pockets, Lunchables, Pop Tarts and other well-known foods commonly consumed by U.S. youth.

The lawsuit notes that countless studies, some by the manufacturers themselves, have shown UPFs to meet the criteria for addictive, psychoactive products that induce cravings and overconsumption. Internal documents indicate companies did their own research to figure out how they could use UPFs to “hack the brain” of consumers.

“UPF formulation strategies were guided by the same tobacco company scientists and the same type of brain research on sensory perceptions, physiological psychology, and chemical senses that were used to increase the addictiveness of cigarettes. Studies of how electrical messages are transmitted throughout the central nervous system are used to formulate UPF.”

– Olivia Kreie v. The Kraft Heinz Company et al

Kreie argues that manufacturers campaigned directly to children using scientific data to generate addictive qualities in their products. As a result, obesity rates and diabetes exploded right along with the popularity of UPFs.

The lawsuit seeks to hold the manufacturers liable for Kreie’s Type 2 diabetes, which she was first diagnosed with at only 10 years old, and will have lifelong consequences for her diet and health. Kreie indicates that neither she, her parents, nor millions of other American families living typical lives had any chance of resisting the incessant, science-based marketing and chemically-enhanced flavors, particularly children.

Kreie presents claims of negligence, failure to warn, defective design, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, violation of consumer protection law, civil conspiracy/concerted action, and aiding and abetting wrongful conduct. She seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.

Ultra-Processed Food Lawsuits

The complaint joins an increasing number of similar ultra-processed food lawsuits filed by both young adults and the parents of children who developed metabolic diseases following childhood exposure to UPFs, including diabetes and fatty liver disease.

These lawsuits allege ultra-processed food products were intentionally engineered and marketed to encourage overconsumption in ways similar to addiction. They claim the companies targeted children and other impressionable consumers to create lifelong customers, despite the potential harm to their health. 

Ultra-processed food attorneys representing plaintiffs nationwide are currently reviewing additional cases involving individuals who regularly consumed UPFs during childhood and later developed metabolic illnesses.

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