Ultra-processed baby foods are ‘setting children up for a life of obesity’, a new study has warned.
Around one in three (31 per cent) ready-made products aimed at babies or toddlers were classified as ultra-processed (UPFs), according to University of Leeds researchers.
UPFs are mass-produced foods possessing multiple ingredients and additives which have been linked with diseases and bad health.
A team from the institution looked into 632 snacks, cereals, pouches and jars of food from top brands including Ella’s Kitchen and Heinz and found that some get up to 89 per cent of their calories from sugar.
Some of the most popular UPF products include ‘melty’ sticks and puffs which are of a low nutritional value.
But the study also found some non-UPF snacks marketed as healthy to have high sugar levels.
Many fruit-based purées are not classed as UPFs and don’t have sugar added but are high in released sugars, found naturally in fruit and made when fruit is broken down.
Snack bars aimed at babies possessed around double the sugar of a digestive biscuit on average, researchers found.
Ultra-processed baby foods are ‘setting children up for a life of obesity’, a new study has warned
Nutritonists have been pushing the government to implement limits on processing and even ban added sugars.
They have suggested that parents are being given the wrong idea by a food industry which brands a variety of unhealthy foods as nutritious.
Katharine Jenner, director of the Obesity Health Alliance, said: ‘The baby food aisle is flooded with sugary, ultra-processed snacks that set children up for a lifetime of poor eating habits, obesity and tooth decay.
‘These products undermine the best intentions of parents and carers, who want to put their child’s health first.’
The NHS has recently released new advice stating that parents should only give their babies jars, pouches and trays of processed food from time to time and that these products should not be used instead of everyday meals.
Lead researcher at the University of Leeds, Dr Diane Threapleton, said: ‘We’re seeing highly processed snacks, sweets, cereals, even meals dominating the baby aisle.
‘These are often marketed as healthy, organic, or with “no added sugar” claims, but they contain ingredients and undergo processing that bear little resemblance to the kind of food young children should be growing up on.’
She added that these snacks were establishing cravings among babies from a very young age and called for the government to tackle the trend.
Around one in three (31 per cent) ready-made products aimed at babies or toddlers were classified as ultra-processed, according to University of Leeds researchers (Stock Photo)
These factors have contributed to shocking statistics which suggest one in 10 children are obese by the age of four or five, when they begin school, according to the NHS.
The most common reason for hospital admissions among young children is tooth decay promptey by high-sugar diets.
UPF-heavy diets have been associated with increased exposure to 32 different diseases, including cancer, diabetes, depression and heart disease.
Those who eat lots of UPFs are also more likely to take up smoking or not exercising, according to scientists, although the Leeds study did adjust its findings to factor this in.
