Research presented at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2022 suggests that ultra-processed foods might act as a “gateway” causing teenagers to eat higher quantities of unhealthy foods.

In discussions around mouth health there has always been a correlation between sugary or ultra-processed foods and negative impacts on oral health. In recent months, the UK has seen debates around sugary children’s snacks particularly.

Research suggests that ultra-processed foods (foods high in sugar, salt, unhealthy trans-fat, artificial flavours and colours) account for approximately 60 per cent of the average American diet. A 2019 study published in the BMJ suggests that the figure is slightly lower in the UK at 56.8 per cent.

Previous studies have demonstrated that consuming high levels of ultra-processed foods can be linked to hypertension, weight gain, increased heart disease risk, and premature death.

Maria Balhara, lead researcher of the study and a 16-year old student at Broward College in Florida, explains “Ultra-processed foods are designed to be hyper-palatable, or engineered to be as addictive as possible. They’re also cheap and convenient, which makes them hard to resist. Most people are eating too many of these foods without realizing it.”

The survey accessed the participants intake of ultra-processed foods for the previous eight weeks in 2022 and questions to gage their consumption in 2019 before the covid restrictions were implemented. The foods selected were: pre-packaged cookies, candy, chips, chocolate, energy drinks, frozen desserts, soda, store-bought pastries, store-bought smoothies, syrup-sweetened coffee or tea, white bread and processed meat. The questions invited students to respond either “true” or “false” to a list of statements which was then turned into statistical data sets.

Participants of the study included 315 teens aged 13-19 from 12 high schools across South Florida. The average body mass index of the participants was 22.8 (indicating normal body weight)

Compared to all the other foods on the list, increased consumption of candy was associated with the highest increase in consumption of all other ultra-processed foods at 31 per cent. Pre-packaged pastries and frozen desserts also increased consumption by 12 per cent and 11 per cent respectively. Due to these increases the researchers dubbed these foods “gateways”. But, participants whose consumption of these “gateways” changed were found to be more likely to change their consumption of all other ultra-processed foods too.

The questionnaire also asked the teenagers about the impact of the pandemic. The report found that 43 per cent estimated an increase in their consumption of ultra-processed foods once the restrictions were lifted compared with their pre-pandemic diet. However, 57 per cent notes a decrease in consumption.

Decreased meat and white bread consumption was associated with a decrease in consumption of all other ultra-processed foods (eight per cent and nine per cent decrease respectively). But the decrease of eating pre-packaged cookies created the largest decrease in consumption of the other foods at 10 per cent.

“The good news,” Maria said, “is that even small changes, such as reducing how often you eat a few gateway foods, may reduce overall consumption of unhealthy foods and have a big impact on your overall health.”

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