According to researchers, adolescents in the UK get almost two-thirds of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods, or UPFs, with consumption being highest among those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The findings came from an analysis of food diaries kept from 2008 to 2019 by nearly 3,000 participants aged 11 to 18 as part of the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey.
Although the authors noted a slight decline in UPF consumption, from 68% to 63%, the findings suggest that adolescents in the UK still eat more of these foods than other age groups.
Dr Yanaina Chavez-Ugalde, the study’s lead author from the University of Cambridge, said the findings highlight the need to address the dominance of ultra-processed foods in adolescent diets.
“Adolescence is a unique time in life where people gain a little more independence and have more choice about what they eat. It’s also a time when health behaviors solidify,” she said. “I think there is a place for ultra-processed foods in our diets … but not as much as we consume.”
Chavez-Ugalde said whole grains and breads can be important sources of fiber, even if they are ultra-processed, but suggested a reasonable intake is closer to 20% than two-thirds. Comprehensive policy measures, including better food education, marketing regulations and improved access to nutritious foods, were needed to encourage adolescents to make healthier choices, she added.
UPFs are industrially produced foods that contain preservatives, sweeteners, artificial flavors, emulsifiers and other additives. They are typically high in sugar, saturated fat and sodium, are associated with a poor quality diet and have been linked to numerous health risks including obesity, type 2 diabetes and cancer.
In the latest study, the authors assessed more than 5,000 foods recorded in food diaries using the formal NOVA criteria to define UPFs, which include most supermarket breads, breakfast cereals, crisps and ready meals.
The study, a collaboration with the University of Bristol, found that while an average of 66% of adolescents’ calories came from UPFs, there were differences across society, with those from more deprived backgrounds consuming more UPFs (68.4%) than those from less deprived backgrounds (63.8%). Consumption was higher among those from white versus non-white backgrounds (67.3% compared with 59%), and in the North of England compared with the South, at 67.4% versus 64.1%. Across the age groups, 18-year-olds ate a slightly lower percentage of UPFs, at 63.4%, than 11-year-olds at 65.6%.
“If you ask a lot of people, they know how to eat healthy,” Chavez-Ugalde said. “UPFs replace or supersede minimally processed foods because they are more convenient and less expensive.” Details are published in the European Journal of Nutrition.
Carmen Piernas-Sanchez, a nutrition scientist at the University of Oxford, who was not involved in the study, said: “The percentage of total daily energy intake from ultra-processed foods is very high, despite the decreases observed in recent years of surveys. Similar figures have been reported in other countries, such as the US.”
“Future studies of this type should report the main food sources that contribute most to UPF consumption, which could further help inform policies aimed at improving the diet quality of the UK population,” she added.
Concerns about UPFs and their potential health effects have led some countries to introduce new labelling for the foods. But Gunter Kuhnle, professor of nutrition and food science at the University of Reading, warned against such a move. “Putting a different threshold for things to avoid is probably not the best idea. I think it would be much better to move to a more positive side. It would also make a lot of sense, because there is a lot of disagreement about what to avoid. Should we be eating healthier? Yes. But a recommendation of ‘don’t eat X’ needs strong evidence.”