A top National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientist has abruptly quit after claiming his studies, allegedly showing ultra-processed foods are “safe,” were “censored.”
Dr. Kevin Hall resigned from the agency over disagreements about his research, the UK Daily Mail reported.
Hall claims that the outcomes of his studies “did not appear to fully support preconceived narratives” under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The nutrition and metabolism scientist was conducting studies on the impact of ultra-processed food on obesity and long-term health.
He claimed in a post on X that he was quitting because he received pushback on his research results.
Kennedy has been an outspoken critic of the food industry.
He has postulated that the use of addictive additives that turn food into unrecognizable products that are hyperpalatable is causing significant health problems as America grows sicker and fatter.
However, Hall said his research study on ultra-processed foods disputed the claims that these products are as addictive to consumers as drugs.
Yet, critics have argued that Hall’s study was flawed.
Nevertheless, the doctor disputes this claim, saying it’s a matter of “censorship.”
Hall pinned the post to his X account and laid out his case against the NIH.
“After 21 years at my dream job, I’m very sad to announce my early retirement from the National Institutes of Health,” he began his lengthy post.
“My life’s work has been to scientifically study how our food environment affects what we eat, and how what we eat affects our physiology.
“Lately, I’ve focused on unravelling the reasons why diets high in ultra-processed food are linked to epidemic proportions of chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity.
“Our research leads the world on this topic,” Hall went on.
“Given recent bipartisan goals to prevent diet-related chronic diseases, and new agency leadership professing to prioritize scientific investigation of ultra-processed foods, I had hoped to expand our research program with ambitious plans to more rapidly and efficiently determine how our food is likely making Americans chronically sick,” the doctor claimed.
“Unfortunately, recent events have made me question whether NIH continues to be a place where I can freely conduct unbiased science,” Hall wrote.
He went on to say that there was “censorship in the reporting of our research because of agency concerns that it did not appear to fully support preconceived narratives of my agency’s leadership about ultra-processed food addiction,” Hall claimed.
After 21 years at my dream job, I’m very sad to announce my early retirement from the National Institutes of Health. My life’s work has been to scientifically study how our food environment affects what we eat, and how what we eat affects our physiology. Lately, I’ve focused on… pic.twitter.com/JSybxCujDH
— Kevin Hall (@KevinH_PhD) April 16, 2025
Hall conducted a 2019 study that found people ate more when the foods were engineered to be highly palatable.
He launched a 28-day study and found that when the additives that made the food more enjoyable were removed, consumption decreased.
In 2024, Hall was set to share his findings, but he claims he has been “censored.”
Scientists throughout the U.S. are studying whether it’s the processing, chemical additives, or overconsumption of fat, salt, and sugar that are to blame for poor health outcomes.
A Boston Children’s Hospital researcher and endocrinologist believes that Hall’s original study was simply too short to be useful.
It’s easy to get people to modify their behavior for short periods, but it’s common knowledge among scientists that long-term change is more challenging.
Dr. David Ludwig said Hall’s study was “fundamentally flawed by its short duration” and thus unable to provide adequate information.
“If they were persistent, we would have the answer to obesity,” said Ludwig, who believes that consumption of junk carbohydrates is the “prime dietary culprit” and that worrying about the processing itself is “distracting.”
While scientists squabble over these distinctions, Americans experience poor health outcomes that have increased rapidly.
There is too much money in the ultra-processed food industry for quick change, but continued study could eventually break the spell of Big Food.
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