Ultra-processed foods are generally produced at an industrial level that contain ingredients that are not used or rarely used in home cooking, such as emulsifiers, colorings and sweeteners. Abusing them can harm your health, so it is recommended to restrict their consumption and take them only occasionally. However, a new study has come to the alarming conclusion that some young children get more than half of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods.
The study analyzed data from 2,591 children born in the United Kingdom in 2007 and 2008, whose parents recorded what their children ate and drank for three days. Their results have been published in the European Journal of Nutrition, and although the most common ultra-processed foods (UPFs) consumed by 21-month-old children when their parents recorded their diets included flavored yogurts and whole-grain breakfast cereals, which are generally considered healthy, by the time children reached seven years old the most common UPFs were sweet cereals, white bread and desserts.
“Ultra-processed foods are not entirely harmful to our health, and the products that the young children in our study ate are often seen as quite healthy options. However, some whole grain cereals and flavored yogurts contain high levels of added sugar and salt, and our study found that children who ate more UPFs also ate more of these ingredients,” said Dr. Rana Conway, a member of the Institute of Nutrition. UCL Epidemiology and Health Care and lead author of the study.
Bad dietary habits that can be maintained for life
This finding is worrying, especially because young children generally tend to consume more sugar and salt than recommended. In addition to sugar and salt, a diet high in ultra-processed foods can make it difficult for children to get used to the natural flavors of whole foods, which can reduce the likelihood of adopting healthy eating habits later in life.
“Eating patterns in the first years of life are important, as they help establish habits that can last into childhood and adulthood. This was reflected in our results, where 21-month-old children who consumed more UPFs were also more likely to be heavy consumers of these foods at age seven,” said Professor Clare Llewellyn, co-author of the study.
The research team analyzed data from the Gemini Twin Cohort Study, using the Nova classification to divide foods and drinks into four groups: unprocessed or minimally processed foods (such as eggs, milk, vegetables, fish and fruits); processed culinary ingredients (salt, butter and oil); processed foods (canned fish, peanut butter, and cheese); and ultra-processed foods (cereals, yogurts, industrial bread, cookies, sausages, French fries).
The children were divided into five groups according to their consumption of ultra-processed foods. The team discovered that children in the group with the lowest consumption of UPFs obtained 28% of their calories from these foods, while in the group with the highest consumption this percentage rose to 69%.
“Despite labels suggesting they are a healthy option, ultra-processed foods aimed at children often have excess sugar and salt”
It was also observed that the consumption of UPFs at 21 months predicted the consumption of these foods at seven years. Children who consumed the most ultra-processed foods were 9.4 times more likely to remain heavy consumers at age seven, compared to those who consumed the least. This could be related to the hyperpalatable nature of UPFs, which are usually rich in fat, sugar or salt.
In all groups, children’s consumption of free sugars exceeded the maximum recommended by the UK government, which is 5% of daily caloric intake. In the two groups with the highest consumption of UPFs, added sugar represented more than 10% of total calories on average.
The researchers called for implementing policies that balance children’s diets towards a lower proportion of ultra-processed foods, such as restricting the promotion of unhealthy foods aimed at children, adding warning labels to products with high sugar content and subsidizing fresh and minimally processed foods.
“It is not easy to feed children healthily in today’s food environment. Highly processed foods are often cheaper than those parents would prefer to offer, such as fresh fruits and vegetables. Additionally, despite labels suggesting they are a healthy option, ultra-processed foods aimed at children often have excess sugar and salt, making it even more difficult for parents to make healthy choices,” concludes Dr. Conway.
The study also mentioned that some commercial products aimed at young children, which would not be classified as UPFs because they do not contain the typical ingredients of these, imitated UPFs in terms of textures. These include snacks such as vegetable sticks or cookie-like products. Early exposure to these foods, although healthy in nutritional content, may not encourage vegetable consumption in children.
