A new study has highlighted a link between the more consumption of ultra-processed food in Children and its impact on their weight gain. As per the data released by the study published in JAMA Paediatrics, surprising results have come to know about ultra-processed food and its weight gain link.
The 17-year-old study has highlighted that children who consume more ultra-processed food gain more weight rapidly on becoming adults. In the study, over 9,000 British children born in the 1990s are covered.
The researchers have said that children are focusing on eating ultra-processed foods in their diets. They say ultra-processed foods including frozen pizzas, fizzy drinks, ready-to-eat meals, and mass-produced bread are becoming part of children’s diets. And they consume over 60% of calories in the form of ultra-processed foods.
Weight Gain Links to Excessive Consumption of Ultra-Processed Food
Dr. Eszter Vamos, a senior clinical lecturer at Imperial College London and an author of the study has introduced a new result. He has said that a dose-response relationship is also critical in increasing the body weight quickly.
In his opinion, not only children who eat ultra-processed food see a hike in their bodyweight on growing up as adults. But those who eat excess see excess boom in their bodyweight in their adulthood.
Moreover, the study has highlighted that Industrial food processing changes the nature of foods. It changes consistency, taste, color, and shelf life by using mechanical or chemical methods. Eventually, the foods become more palatable, cheap, and appealing in comparison to home-cooked foods.
Social-Economic Factors Impact the Consumption of Ultra-Processed Food
Gunter Kuhnle, a professor of nutrition and food science at the University of Reading, the UK, has also revealed something new on this. He has said that social-economic factors also have links between child health and ultra-processed food.
Children born in poor families with lower educational standards eat ultra-processed foods on a large scale. Hence, they grow weak and obese with time. As a result, they see a rapid increase in their bodyweight in their adulthood.
Health inequalities and a poor social-economic environment lead to a decline in children’s health. In the study, researchers considered a group of 9,000 children ranging from 7 to 24 years of age. In order to record the food and drinks consumed by children, researchers completed food diaries at ages 7, 10, and 13.
Children with the highest consumption of ultra-processed foods saw a hike in their BMI by 1.2 kg/m2, higher body fat by 1.5%, weight by 3.7 kg, and increased waist circumference by 3.1 cm.
