Highly processed foods can damage children’s fitness in the long term and have consequences for cardiovascular and motor functions, as a new study shows. A 4 step system could help with nutrition.
“You are what you eat” is a well-known saying. A sentence that parents in particular should take to heart. Because a study now confirms that children who frequently consume highly processed foods can damage their health in the long term.1 Previous studies have already shown that pizza, sweets, soft drinks and the like are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease in adults.2 The latest study is one of the first to also make a connection to children’s physical fitness.
Highly processed foods and their risks
Eating processed foods is a well-known risk factor for cardiovascular disease in adults, but few studies have examined the association between this risk and childhood consumption of highly processed foods. US researchers did just that, analyzing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) National Youth Fitness Survey. For this purpose, data on physical activity, fitness and food intake (including highly processed foods) was collected from more than 1,500 US children aged 3 to 15 years by means of interviews and fitness tests.
Also interesting: Free rehabilitation for minors suffering from the consequences of the pandemic
Consequences for the cardiovascular system and motor skills
Data has shown that children who consume more highly processed foods have poorer motor skills and poorer cardiovascular fitness. Children aged 12 to 15 who ate more processed foods than those who ate less also had poorer cardiovascular health. And even among the 3- to 5-year-olds, poorer mobility was observed.
The researchers used the development of the musculoskeletal system as a measure of physical fitness. The analysis found that the lowest-performing children consumed 273 more calories per day of ready meals than the highest-performing 3- to 5-year-olds. In the older children, cardiovascular fitness was used as a benchmark. The study showed that teens and preschoolers with good cardiovascular fitness ate 226 fewer daily calories from highly processed foods than those who did not have healthy cardiovascular fitness.
Also interesting: Does a walk train endurance as well as exercise?
4-step system of food processing
The basis for this study was the so-called NOVA classification system. Developed at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, it classifies foods according to their degree of processing. The German Society for Nutritional Therapy and Prevention (FET) eV also publishes its recommendations based on this 4-step system.3 Food is divided into the following groups:
1st group: Unprocessed to minimally processed foods
- Edible parts of plants (seeds, fruits, leaves, stems, roots) or animals (muscles, offal, eggs, milk)
- Mushrooms
- Drinks (water, tea, coffee)
Minimally processed means:
- Removing inedible or unwanted portions
- Drying, crushing, grinding and dividing
- Filtering, roasting, cooking
- Alcohol-free fermentation and pasteurization
- Cooling, freezing, pickling
- vacuum packaging
- Should be the main part of the daily diet
2nd group: Processed Ingredients (“Cooking Ingredients”)
- Vegetable oils, butter, sugar, salt
- Ingredients are usually not eaten in isolation or individually, but added in small amounts to foods of the first stage for taste and consistency
3rd group: Processed Foods
- Freshly baked bread and rolls
- Aged cheese
- Canned vegetables, fruits and fish
- Mostly combined foods of the first and second stage, which usually consist of 3-4 ingredients
- Are produced by means of various preservation (smoking, curing), cooking methods or fermentation processes
4th group: Highly Processed Foods
- Often consist of individual ingredients and only rarely whole foods
- finished products
- Most snacks
- soft drinks
- Sweets
- Composite meat and fish products such as sausage
- Ready-made frozen meals and instant products
- Additives or additives (E-substances and aromas) as well as extracts (e.g. individual types of sugar, milk components, gluten, etc.
In this study, ultra-processed or highly processed foods therefore include products found in group 4. These included packaged snacks, breakfast cereals, sweets, sodas, sweetened juices and yoghurts, canned soups or ready meals such as pizza, hot dogs, burgers and chicken nuggets.
Also interesting: What parents can do to encourage children to eat more vegetables
Reduce highly processed foods
Highly processed foods such as ready meals or snacks can be quickly and easily put in the school bag, but the study shows how important healthy meals are. You also invest in the future health of your child to a certain extent when it comes to nutrition. As a next step, the researchers plan to take a closer look at convenience food consumption patterns by age group. For example, do children eat more of these products for breakfast, lunch or as a snack? A better understanding of how and when to eat could help future actions to promote healthy eating. In principle, however, those who eat less food from group 4 and more often from groups 1 and 2 are doing something good for their health in the long term.
Sources