Ultra-processed foods make up two-thirds of children’s daily calories, says survey
Adolescents in the UK get nearly two-thirds of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods (UPFs), with consumption highest among those from deprived backgrounds, researchers say.
Researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Bristol analysed data from four-day food diaries kept by nearly 3,000 adolescents, aged between 11 to 18, as part of the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey.
The findings, which have been published today in the European Journal of Nutrition, revealed that there has been a slight decrease in UPF consumption, from 68% to 63% between 2008 and 2019, but that adolescents in the UK are still eating more of these foods than other age groups.
The researchers also noted that adolescents from disadvantaged backgrounds consumed a higher proportion of their calorie intake from UPFs, while adolescents from a non-white ethnicity consumed a lower proportion of their calorie intake from UPFs.
Further to this, adolescents living in the North of England consumed a higher proportion of their calorie intake from UPFs compared with those living in the South of England and London.
Quick recap: What are UPFs? Food that contains additives such as preservatives, sweeteners, colourings, flavourings, and emulsifiers. Ultra-processed foods contain higher levels of added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium. They have been suggested as one of the key drivers of the global rise in diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and cancer.
Dr Yanaina Chavez-Ugalde from the University of Cambridge, the study’s first author, said: ‘Adolescents’ food patterns and practices are influenced by many factors, including their home environment, the marketing they are exposed to and the influence of their friends and peers. But adolescence is also an important time in our lives where behaviours begin to become ingrained.
‘It’s clear from our findings that ultra-processed foods make up the majority of adolescents’ diets, and their consumption is at a much higher level than is ideal, given their potential negative health impacts.’
The researchers suggested that the reduction in UPF intake before the pandemic could be partly attributed to increased public awareness and health concerns related to sugar consumption, government-led campaigns, sugar taxes in other countries, and the reformulation of sugary drinks to lower their sugar content.
Dr Esther van Sluijs from the MRC Epidemiology Unit at Cambridge, added that: ‘Ultra-processed foods offer convenient and often cheaper solutions to time- and income-poor families, but unfortunately many of these foods also offer poor nutritional value. This could be contributing to the inequalities in health we see emerging across childhood and adolescence.’
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