British young children get almost half their calories from ultra-processed foods, rising to 59% by the age of seven, according to the largest study of its kind.
This first comprehensive review of dietary intake at a young age comes as consumption of UPF foods such as cereals, protein bars, carbonated drinks, instant meals and fast foods is rapidly increasing worldwide. Ta. of findings Published in European Journal of Nutrition.
Researchers at UCL in London used data from the Gemini Twin Cohort Study and the Nova classification to assess food intake. UPF is typically produced industrially and contains ingredients that are not or rarely used in home cooking, such as emulsifiers, colorants, and sweeteners.
Researchers found that young children in the UK got 47% of their calories from UPF, and this increased to 59% by the age of seven. The study looked at data from 2,591 children born in the UK in 2007 and 2008, with parents recording what their children ate and drank over three days.
The most common UPFs consumed by infants (21 months of age when their parents recorded their diets) were flavored yogurt and whole-grain breakfast cereals, products that are generally considered healthy. By age 7, the most common UPFs were sweet cereals and puddings.
This study had several limitations, including the overrepresentation of people of white ethnicity and high socio-economic status in the sample compared to the UK population. The study also relied on data from some children born 17 years ago.
However, the study’s lead author, Professor Claire Llewellyn from UCL, said that modern datasets have provided detailed measurements of this early childhood dietary intake in large, representative samples, using repeated measurements on the same children. said that there are no others.
“It is highly unlikely that children are now consuming less UPF than they were in 2008/9 or 2014, or that their dietary patterns have changed significantly,” she said. “Thus, these may be conservative estimates of UPF consumption.”
Furthermore, she added: “Eating patterns in early childhood are important because they help establish habits that last from childhood into adulthood.
“This is reflected in our findings, where children who ate more ultra-processed foods at 21 months of age also tended to consume more ultra-processed foods at age 7.”
The UCL team said: ‘Along with the addition of warning labels to products, comprehensive school feeding policies and subsidies for fresh and minimally processed foods, children’s diets can be balanced to have a lower proportion of UPF. He called for a policy that would correct the situation.
Lead author Dr Lana Conway, also from UCL, said: Highly processed foods are often cheaper than foods that parents want to feed their children, such as fresh fruits and vegetables.
“Also, despite labels that suggest they are healthy options, ultra-processed foods marketed to children often contain too much sugar and salt. This helps parents make healthy choices. It becomes difficult to do so.”
