Dietary guidelines suggest minimizing the proportion of calories one consumes daily from ultra-processed foods, such as sweet snacks, desserts, French fries, fast food, and lunch meats, which contain high levels of sugar, sodium, and carbs, but are low in vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein. However, the eating patterns of children and adolescents in the U.S. are moving in the wrong direction.
 
According to a study conducted at the Friendman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, 67% of total calories consumed by adolescents and teens in the U.S. came from ultra-processed foods in 2018, which is a significant increase from the 61% calculated in 1999. The study analyzed the dietary intake from 33,795 children and adolescents nationwide.
 
The study analyzed information from participants who were between the ages of 2 and 19 years, spanning 1999-2018 by using 10 consecutive cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). These data allowed the researchers to quantify major ultra-processed food intakes, as well as their associated nutrient profiles.
 
“Some whole grain breads and dairy foods are ultra-processed, and they’re healthier than other ultra-processed foods. Processing can keep food fresher longer, allows for food fortification and enrichment, and enhances consumer convenience,” said corresponding author Fang Fang Zhang, nutrition epidemiologist at the Friedman School. “But many ultra-processed foods are less healthy, with more sugar and salt, and less fiber, than unprocessed and minimally processed foods, and the increase in their consumption by children and teenagers is concerning.”
 
The largest contributor to the overall caloric spike in ultra-processed foods came from ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat dishes, such as takeout, or frozen pizza and burgers. These foods increased from 2.2% to 11.2% of calories consumed by young people over the study period. The second largest spike in calories came from packaged sweet snacks and desserts, which grew from 10.6% to 12.9%.
 
Meanwhile, the proportion of calories from healthier unprocessed or minimally processed foods decreased from 28.8% to 23.5%. The remaining percentage of calories came from moderately processed foods such as cheese and canned fruits and vegetables, and consumer-added flavor enhancers such as sugar, honey, maple syrup, and butter.
 
One silver lining in the findings was that there was a decline in calories from sugar sweetened beverages, which dropped from 10.8% to 5.3% of overall calories, which represents a total drop of 51%.
 
“This finding shows the benefits of the concerted campaign over the past few years to reduce overall consumption of sugary drinks,” Zhang said. “We need to mobilize the same energy and level of commitment when it comes to other unhealthy ultra-processed foods such as cakes, cookies, donuts, and brownies.”
 
“In additional analyses, we compared the composition of ultra-processed foods to non-ultra-processed foods using data from the 2017-2018 period. We found that ultra-processed foods contain a substantially higher percent of calories from carbohydrates and added sugars, and higher levels of sodium, but also had less fiber and a lower percentage of calories from protein,” lead author Lu Wang, a postdoctoral fellow at the Friedman School, said.
 
“Food processing is an often-overlooked dimension in nutrition research,” Zhang concluded. “We may need to consider that ultra-processing of some foods may be associated with health risks, independent of the poor nutrient profile of ultra-processed foods generally.”