Ultra-Processed Food Consumption among the Paediatric Population: An Overview and Call to Action from the European Childhood Obesity Group

Abstract

Just for a moment, think of food or beverage products that are extensively marketed, commonly consumed and widely liked by children. It is quite likely that the examples you are thinking of fall within the category of ultra-processed foods (UPF). UPF are ready-to-eat formulations of processed substances that have been extracted or refined from whole foods and that typically contain added flavours, colours, and other cosmetic additives, with little, if any, whole food remaining [1]. Soda, flavoured dairy drinks, packaged snacks, many breakfast cereals, flavoured ice creams, instant noodles and soups, nuggets and similar reconstituted meat products are all examples of UPF. These products are generally high in free sugars, saturated fat, and sodium, and low in protein, dietary fibre, micronutrients and phytochemicals, relative to their unprocessed/minimally processed counterparts [2, 3]. They are also highly palatable, energy dense, with a high glycaemic load [4].