Ken Berry, MD's assertion aligns with research showing tobacco companies significantly influenced the processed food industry, contributing to hyper-palatable food formulations linked to obesity.

Here's the breakdown:

Tobacco Industry's Role in Processed Foods

1. Acquisitions & Market Dominance:

○ Philip Morris acquired Kraft (1988) and General Foods (1985), while R.J. Reynolds bought Nabisco (1985)156. These deals gave tobacco firms control over major brands like Oreo, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, and Lunchables126.

○ Strategic Diversification: Tobacco companies moved into food during the 1980s as smoking declined, using food as a "hedge" against regulatory risks59.

2. Hyper-Palatable Food Engineering:

○ "Bliss Point" Formulation: Tobacco-owned foods were designed to maximize cravings by combining fat, sodium, sugar, and additives134.

○ Legacy of Addictive Design: By 2018, 75% of branded foods were hyper-palatable, with former tobacco-owned products having slightly higher rates of engineered fat/sodium combinations56.

Link to Obesity

• Ultra-Processed Food (UPF) Impact:

○ Studies associate UPFs (common in tobacco-owned brands) with obesity, metabolic syndrome, and hypertension78.

○ Example: A 9-year Spanish study found high UPF consumption increased overweight/obesity risk7.

• Industry Parallels:

○ Tactics Similar to Big Tobacco: Both industries emphasized personal responsibility, funded favorable research, and lobbied against regulations89.

○ Addiction-Like Consumption: UPFs are linked to compulsive eating, mirroring nicotine's addictive properties3410.

Conclusion: While direct causation between tobacco-owned foods and obesity requires further study, evidence shows tobacco companies systematically engineered hyper-palatable foods that dominate modern diets and correlate strongly with obesity trends157. Berry’s claim is substantiated by these documented corporate strategies and UPF health impacts.

Citations:

1. https://lsa.umich.edu/psych/news-events/all-news/faculty-news/many-of-today-s-unhealthy-foods-were-brought-to-you-by-big-tobac.html

2. https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/09/08/did-tobacco-companies-also-get-us-hooked-on-junk-food-new-research-says-yes/

3. https://www.resilience.org/stories/2025-01-07/big-food-big-tobacco-and-ultra-processed-foods/

4. https://www.coswaycbt.co.uk/post/ultra-processed-food-trap

5. https://chirowithpt.com/2024/09/17/tobacco-and-processed-food/

6. https://www.pcrm.org/news/health-nutrition/tobacco-companies-fueled-americas-addiction-processed-foods

7. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5787353/

8. https://academic.oup.com/bmb/article/125/1/131/4847358

9. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19298423/

10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUx1JaQFYXE

Answer from Perplexity