Ready meals and other highly processed foods are becoming more common in many families’ daily lives.
They are easy to buy, require almost no preparation, and are often cheaper than many fresh ingredients.
For that reason, they have become a regular part of many children’s diets. This has led researchers to take a closer look at whether this type of food may affect children in the long term.
According to a study published in the journal JAMA Network Open, researchers examined the connection between children’s diets and their emotional development.
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Study of children
The researchers used data from a large Canadian project on pregnancy and children’s health. The project includes information on both diet and development in children over several years.
The analysis included nearly 2,100 children. The researchers compared the children’s diets at the age of three with their well-being two years later.
To assess this, the researchers used questionnaires that measure, among other things, restlessness, emotional reactions, and behavior in children.
Connection in the data
The results showed a clear connection.
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The larger the share of the children’s diets that consisted of ultra-processed foods, the more signs there were of emotional and behavioral problems.
These included anxiety, fearfulness, aggression, and hyperactivity. The risk increased gradually as the children consumed more calories from this type of food.
The researchers also found that small changes in diet could make a difference.
If some of the ultra-processed foods were replaced with simpler foods such as fruit or vegetables, the children’s overall score for behavioral problems decreased.
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Sources: HealthDay, and JAMA Network Open.
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