Research shows that toddlers get almost half of their calories from ultra-processed foods

Toddlers in Britain get almost half (47%) of their calories from ultra-processed foods (UPFs), rising to 59% by the age of seven, according to a new study led by UCL researchers.

The study, published in the European Journal of Nutritionlooked at data from 2,591 children born in Britain in 2007 and 2008, whose parents kept track of what their children ate and drank for three days.

The most common UPFs consumed by the toddlers (who were 21 months when their parents monitored their diets) were flavored yogurt and whole-grain cereal, items generally considered healthy. At age seven, the most common UPFs were sweet cereals, white bread, and pudding.

Lead author Dr. Rana Conway, from the UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care, said: “Ultra-processed foods are not all bad for our health and the foods typically eaten by the toddlers in our study are seen as quite healthy. .

“However, some whole grain cereals and flavored yoghurts contain high levels of added sugars and salt and our research found that toddlers who consumed more ultra-processed foods also had higher intakes of these ingredients.

“This is concerning, especially as toddlers generally consume more added sugar and salt than recommended.

“Aside from sugar and salt, a diet high in ultra-processed foods is less likely to introduce children to the natural flavors of whole foods and therefore less likely to encourage healthy eating later in life.”

Senior author Professor Clare Llewellyn, from the UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care, said: “Eating patterns in the early years are important because they help establish habits that can continue into childhood and into adulthood. This was reflected in our findings, with Children aged 21 months who ate more ultra-processed foods were also likely to be greater consumers of ultra-processed foods at age seven.”

The researchers analyzed data from the Gemini twin cohort study, using the Nova classification to divide the foods and drinks consumed into four groups: unprocessed or minimally processed foods (eggs, milk, vegetables, fish and fruit); processed culinary ingredients (salt, butter and oil); processed foods (canned fish, peanut butter and cheese); and UPFs (cereals, yogurt, industrial sliced ​​bread, cookies, sausages, chips).

UPFs are typically produced industrially and contain ingredients that are not or very rarely used in home cooking, such as emulsifiers, colorants and sweeteners.

Toddlers were divided into five groups based on their ultra-processed food intake. The research team found that toddlers in the lowest UPF group consumed 28% of their calories from UPFs, while for toddlers in the highest of the five groups the figure was 69%.

They also found that ultra-processed foods consumed at age 21 predicted UPF consumption at age seven. Toddlers who consumed the most UPFs were 9.4 times more likely to be in the highest UPF consumption group at age seven compared to toddlers who consumed the lowest percentage of UPFs.

The research team said this may be partly due to the ‘hyperpalatable’ nature of these UPFs, as they tend to be foods with higher fat, sugar and/or salt content.

In all five UPF groups, toddlers’ consumption of free sugars exceeded the UK government’s recommended maximum of 5% of daily calorie intake. In the two highest UPF groups, added sugar intake averaged more than 10%.

The researchers called for policies to restore balance in children’s diets to reduce the proportion of UPFs, such as limiting the promotion of unhealthy foods marketed to children, adding warning labels to products ( for example products that contain a lot of sugar) and subsidizing fresh and healthy food. minimally processed food.

Dr. Conway said: “It’s not easy to feed children healthily in our current food environment. Highly processed foods are often cheaper than the foods parents would like to feed their children, such as fresh fruit and vegetables.

“Despite labels suggesting they are a healthy choice, ultra-processed foods marketed to children often contain too much sugar and salt. This makes it harder for parents to make healthy choices.”

In the paper, the research team also said that there were a range of commercial products intended for young children that would not be classified as having a UPF because they did not contain UPF-like ingredients but texturally mimicked UPFs. These could be, for example, vegetable sticks or profiteroles, or snacks that resemble cookies.

It is unlikely that early exposure to these foods, the researchers wrote, would stimulate vegetable consumption, even if the nutritional content of the foods were healthy (that is, they did not contain added sugar or salt).

In their study limitations, the researchers noted that people of white ethnicity and higher socio-economic status were over-represented in their population sample compared to the UK population as a whole.