NBC News
Ultraprocessed foods constitute most of the children’s diet … and adults do not stay behind, according to a report published Thursday by the centers for disease control and prevention (CDC).
About 62% of the daily calories of children and adolescents
The report is the first of its kind in which CDCs provide estimates on the proportion of ultraprocessed foods in the American diet.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr., mentioned in May the ultraprocessed foods in his list of priority issues to be addressed to stop what he called an epidemic of Chronicles Childhood Diseases.
Last month, the HHS took the first step to formally define the “ultraprocessed foods”, a measure that experts could open the door to more regulation, including what types are eligible to be acquired through food assistance programs.
Diets rich in ultraprocessed foods are associated with health problems such as depression, type 2 diabetes and premature death.
Previous governments have also tried to take measures against ultraprocessed foods, but those efforts have been mainly focused on labeling and ingredients, such as added sugars and trans fats, instead of regulating or classifying foods based on their level of processing.
In last January, during the government of Joe Biden, the Food and Medicines Administration (FDA) proposed to demand a new label in the front of most of the foods and packaged beverages that will alert consumers about the amount of saturated fats, salt and added sugars they contained.
Thursday’s report was based on the results of the National Health and Nutrition Exam Survey, held between August 2021 and August 2023.
The main author of the report, Anne Williams, a researcher at the National Center for Health Statistics, indicated that the agency identified ultraprocessed foods using the Nova classification system, a framework developed by Brazilian researchers that is the most used tool to evaluate this junk food. Nova defines ultraprocessed products such as “industrial creations” made with few or no integral food.
The main source of ultraprocessed foods for both children and adults were sandwiches and hamburgers, Hot Dogs And peanut butter sandwiches, according to Williams. They were followed by baked products, salty snacks and sugary drinks.
The report revealed that adults with higher income tended to consume less ultraprocessed foods.
It was also observed that the consumption of ultraprocessed foods, both in children and adults, decreased slightly between 2017-18 and August 2021-23. In the case of adults, the decrease began even before, in 2013-14. Williams warned that this decrease has been small: a difference of 56 calories in approximately a decade.
Marion Nestle, emerrita professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at the University of New York, said that the conclusions of the CDC coincide with what external researchers have discovered about the eating habits of Americans.
Nestle said parents tend to opt for ultraprocessed foods for their children because they are easy to guarantee in school backpack.
However, he added that probably the main reason why minors consume so many ultraprocess foods is that the food industry markets them intensely among this sector.
“They are the most profitable products in the supermarket, and companies sell them and sell them directly for children,” Nestle said. “Modern and emblematic products are considered, and a lucky to be able to eat them, because this is how they are marketed.”
The term “ultraprocessed foods” was coined around 2009 and has been mainly used for research purposes, explained Susan Mayne, who was director of the FDA Safety and Nutrition Center for the FDA both in the Biden Administration and in Trump’s first.
Mayne said that investigations have shown that the consumption of ultraprocessed foods in general is related to an increase in caloric and weight intake, and that is associated with a greater risk of chronic diseases.
The problem of defining ultraprocessed foods, he added, is that not all of them are related to greater health risks. In fact, some, such as certain yogurts, integral breads and cereals, are associated with a reduction in the risk of chronic diseases such as colon cancer. States like California have tried to address this issue by elaborating a definition of ultraprocessed foods “particularly harmful,” he said.
The Nova classification system also has limitations, since it does not directly measure the level of processing, Mayne added. Instead, use specific additives and ingredients as indicator of this.
“The FDA is carrying out a public process to try to define ultraprocessed foods, which is a good first step,” Mayne said, referring to outraged foods. “But it would be important to repeat studies to demonstrate that the new definition is as or more predictive of the risk of chronic diseases than the existing definitions before it can be used for policies.”
The HHS has not said when it is planned to formally define the term “ultraprocess.”
Nestle said that the Trump administration will also put the magnifying glass on business marketing. “They are very practical products, and children eat them because they have been taught to do so,” he said.
