As most of us know, ultra-processed foods are bad for our health. Things like potato chips, candy, and some packaged yummies can cause a plethora of health issues, including heart disease and obesity. When it comes to babies and young children, we want them to have the healthiest food possible so their little bodies can grow strong and healthy. Baby food is something most parents feed their children, counting on the ingredients to be safe and nutritious. However, those pureed apricots may not be as beneficial as you think. A new study found that more than 70% of baby food is ultra-processed, and many contain additives.
Ultra-processed Baby Foods
A report released by Nutrients and published by Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), which publishes peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journals, sought to understand why so many youths under the age of three have health issues, including obesity. Their study focused on baby food ingredients, and of the 651 foods examined, nearly three-quarters contained additives, which author Elizabeth Dunford, an adjunct assistant professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said have been linked to “inflammation and disruptions in the gut microbiome.”
“We know that babies’ guts are not fully developed enough to be able to handle additives in the way an adult stomach could,” she said. “There is no need for these additives; they are simply cosmetic, designed to make the food look more appealing.”
Dunford continued, “What shocked me was the top ingredient in 71% of these baby foods wasn’t a fruit or vegetable — it was one or more additives.”
The researchers found 105 unique additives in the samples they studied. Over half of those were ingredients usually added to ultra-processed foods. Furthermore, 36% of the food contained synthetic flavor enhancers, 29% had thickeners, and 19% had synthetic food dyes and emulsifiers.
Babies love snacks, too, and nearly 94% of snack-size foods were ultra-processed. To make matters worse, sugar was also added to those items, and at a much higher level than other foods, containing about 2.5% more sugar.
For busy moms and dads, having baby food pouches on hand can be a necessity. Unfortunately, these portable, squeezable, and re-closable containers filled with pureed fruits, vegetables, grains, or meats turned out to be some of the worst offenders, making up about 50% of the sugar consumed from infant foods, the research discovered.
The study found that 70% of the tested foods didn’t even meet the World Health Organization’s nutritional guidelines for protein. Salt levels were above the suggested limits in one in five of the foods, and 25% of the products evaluated didn’t meet calorie recommendations, either.
The Early Years and Nutrition
Most parents try to give their children the healthiest foods and the best advantages for a healthy body. But most American diets are comprised of calories from ultra-processed foods, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 62% of children’s diets contain unhealthy ingredients.
It isn’t surprising that Americans' diets are so unhealthy since up to 70% of the food supply is made up of ultra-processed ingredients. The bad-for-us foods are also cheaper than trying to make meals from scratch. And let’s face it, sitting down with a bag of chips or a bowl of ice cream and watching a movie is pretty convenient and tasty. But that convenience can have an impact on our health, especially for little ones whose bodies are trying to develop and grow.
“Babies exposed to ultraprocessed foods learn to prefer sugar and artificial flavors over the natural, nutrient-dense foods that set the stage for a lifetime of healthy eating,” said Jane Houlihan, the research director for Healthy Babies, Bright Futures, an alliance of non-profits, scientists, and donors working to reduce babies' exposure to neurotoxic chemicals. “Baby food companies should be making it easier, not harder, for families to choose healthy options.”
Sarah Reinhardt, senior strategic campaign director of food systems for the Environmental Working Group, a health advocacy organization that monitors chemicals in food and consumer products, said, “Companies can add new chemicals to baby foods without any FDA safety review, simply declaring them ‘Generally Recognized as Safe.'"
Ultra-processed foods are usually high in calories, sugar, sodium, and saturated fat. Eating these foods has been linked to an assortment of health issues and chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, obesity, a shortened lifespan, and even cancer.
The study highlights a bigger issue. In a country with so many food choices, it is concerning that a majority of products made for babies are filled with additives instead of real fruits and vegetables. When the top ingredients are chemicals designed to improve texture or shelf life, it raises questions about priorities. Parents assume that items marketed specifically for infants meet high standards, but research suggests that may not always be the case – and America’s reliance on ultra-processed foods could be damaging children’s health from the very beginning.
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