Teenagers are getting two-thirds of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods, according to research. White children and those from deprived backgrounds are eating the most UPFs, which tend to be mass-produced and often high in salt, saturated fat and sugar. The study found 11 to 18-year-olds were typically getting 66 per cent of their calories from these foods.
Experts said the trend was particularly worrying as these are formative years where habits can become “ingrained”. The study by Cambridge and Bristol Universities looked at the diets of 3,000 children who took part in the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey between 2008 and 2019. Processed meats, crisps, mass produced bread and breakfast cereals have been linked to increased risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart conditions.
UPFs also tend to include additives and ingredients not often used when people cook from scratch, such as preservatives, emulsifiers and artificial colours. Parents’ occupation, ethnicity and UK region were found to influence adolescents’ diets. The average UPF consumption was found to be 861g a day – 66 per cent of energy intake.
Researchers found intake fell from 67.7 per cent in 2008 to 63 per cent in 2019, and said this may be due to more healthy eating campaigns as well as the Government’s sugar tax. Those living in northern England consumed a higher proportion of calories from UPFs compared with the South, at 67.
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