Healthcare (Commonwealth Union) – According to a recent study led by researchers from University College London (UCL), toddlers in the UK get almost half (47%) of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods (UPFs), a figure that climbs to 59% by the time they reach the age of seven.
The research, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, analyzed data from 2,591 UK children born in 2007 and 2008, whose parents logged their children’s food and drink intake over a period of three days.
For toddlers, who were 21 months old when their diets were recorded, the most frequently consumed UPFs included flavored yoghurts and wholegrain cereals—foods generally perceived as healthy. By age seven, the top UPFs were sugary cereals, white bread, and desserts.
Dr. Rana Conway, the lead author from UCL’s Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care, indicated that not all ultra-processed foods are harmful to our health, and many of those eaten by the toddlers in our study are often regarded as healthy options.
“However, some wholegrain cereals and flavoured yoghurts have high levels of added sugar and salt and our study found that toddlers who consumed more ultra-processed foods also had a higher intake of these ingredients.
“This is concerning, especially as toddlers in general consume more added sugar and salt than is recommended.
“Aside from sugar and salt, a diet that includes a lot of ultra-processed food is less likely to get children used to the natural flavours of whole foods and therefore less likely to encourage healthy eating later in life.”
Professor Clare Llewellyn, senior author from the UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care, emphasized the significance of early eating habits, stating that patterns established during a child’s formative years can have lasting effects into adolescence and adulthood. She indicated that it was evident in our findings, as toddlers who consumed more ultra-processed foods at 21 months were more likely to continue eating high amounts of UPFs by the age of seven.
The researchers examined data from the Gemini twin cohort study, categorizing the foods and drinks consumed into four groups using the Nova classification system: unprocessed or minimally processed foods (such as eggs, milk, vegetables, fish, and fruit), processed culinary ingredients (like salt, butter, and oil), processed foods (including tinned fish, peanut butter, and cheese), and ultra-processed foods (cereals, yoghurts, industrially made bread, biscuits, sausages, crisps).
Ultra-processed foods are typically mass-produced and contain ingredients rarely used in home cooking, such as emulsifiers, colorings, and sweeteners.
The toddlers were grouped into five categories based on their UPF intake. The research revealed that those in the lowest UPF group derived 28% of their calories from these foods, whereas children in the highest group obtained 69% of their calories from UPFs.
The study also showed that UPF consumption at 21 months strongly predicted the amount of UPFs consumed at seven years old. Toddlers in the highest UPF intake group were 9.4 times more likely to remain in that group by age seven compared to those who ate the least amount of UPFs. The researchers suggested this could be due to the “hyperpalatable” nature of UPFs, which tend to be rich in fat, sugar, and/or salt.
In all five groups, toddlers’ intake 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 over 10%.
The research team called for policies aimed at shifting children’s diets towards fewer UPFs. These could include limiting the marketing of unhealthy foods aimed at children, introducing warning labels for high-sugar products, and providing subsidies for fresh, minimally processed foods.
