Processed Food–Rich Diets and Epigenetic Reprogramming: A Hypothesis of Long-Term Biological Imprinting

Abstract

Diet represents one of the most influential environmental factors shaping human biology, not only through immediate metabolic effects but also via long-lasting regulatory mechanisms. While the health consequences of processed and ultra-processed food consumption have been widely discussed in relation to obesity and metabolic disease, their potential role in epigenetic reprogramming remains insufficiently explored. This letter proposes the hypothesis that chronic exposure to processed food–rich diets may induce persistent epigenetic modifications that influence immune regulation, metabolic homeostasis, and disease susceptibility across the lifespan and potentially across generations.