Chris van Tulleken

At a glance

• Chris van Tulleken is a British physician, researcher, author and TV presenter. He specialises in infectious diseases and is affiliated with University College London.
• With his twin brother Xand he made health programmes for the BBC for many years, including the children’s show Operation Ouch!.
• For a BBC documentary he spent a month eating a diet of about 80 percent ultra-processed food, as many Britons do. He gained weight and felt worse.
• He turned that experience and the research behind it into Ultra-Processed People (2023), an international bestseller on how ultra-processed food is designed to be overeaten and how the food industry shapes policy.
• He argues mainly for better regulation, such as marketing restrictions and clearer labels, rather than putting everything on individual willpower.
• For longevity, his work matters because ultra-processed food is linked in many studies to obesity and chronic disease.
• Takeaway: check the ingredient list; if it contains many things you wouldn’t find in an ordinary kitchen, choose a less processed alternative.