Despite warnings from scientists that ultra-processed foods cause many diseases that increase the risk of premature death, they have become the source of about 57% of calories consumed by people in the UK and 58% of the calories consumed by Americans, including children.
Research and studies have revealed a direct correlation between ultra-processed foods and the risk of more than 30 health problems, including obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases, depression and anxiety. But a recent US study warns that this type of food affects the brain size of children before the age of six.
In the study, published in The American Journal of Nutrition, researchers from Children's Hospital Los Angeles followed the health status of 144 children from birth to age 6. They recorded the nature of the diets these children ate and performed MRI scans to measure the development of brain size in these children.
Variety of fried snacks including onion rings, sausages, and nuggets with ketchup and mayo.
Although the study did not find any link between ultra-processed foods and the efficiency of cognitive function of the brain, the researchers did observe changes in brain structure related to memory, thinking and behavior due to eating these types of foods.
The study found that every 10% increase in the amount of ultra-processed foods these children ate resulted in a 2% reduction in the size of the parts associated with emotion, motivation and the reward system in their brains.
HealthDay, a medical research website, quoted the head of the research team as saying that the study confirms that "what children eat early in life may influence brain development in ways that we are only now beginning to understand."
"Even without changes in cognitive function, we see significant changes in brain structure" due to eating ultra-processed foods.
Researchers believe that more research is needed to understand how these changes in brain size affect the long-term health of these children.
