A study published in the medical journal JAMA has shown that children and adolescents ages 2-19 get most of their calories from ultra-processed foods.
Two-thirds, 67% of calories consumed by this age group in 2018 came from foods like frozen pizza, microwave meals, chips, and sweets. This is a 6% increase from 1999.
This widespread reliance on junk food is an increasing public health concern as the obesity rate has been rising steadily among U.S. youths for the past two decades.
If You Think Kids Are Eating Mostly Junk Food, A New Study Finds You’re Right
Researchers analyzed the diets of 33,795 people. The authors of the study point out one reason this is particularly concerning is due to the fact that adolescents are at a critical age for developing dietary habits that carry into adulthood.
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In this time period that the consumption of processed foods increased the consumption of unprocessed foods decreased to 23.5%.
Ready-to-eat meals increased in consumption from 2.2% to 11.2%, the greatest increase. Packaged sweets increased from 10.6% of calories to 12.9% of calorie consumption.
While the growth in consumption of highly processed foods was higher for black, non-Hispanic youth, researchers found education level or income level didn’t affect consumption of ultra-processed foods.
On a positive note, the consumption of sugary beverages dropped from 10.8% of overall calories to 5.3% of overall calories. Researchers suggest this could be due to efforts to educate about the effects of sugary drinks on your health.
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