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• Posted February 4, 2025

Ultra-Processed Foods Make Up Nearly Half of Calories for Canadian Kids

Canadian youngsters are munching loads of ultra-processed foods, increasing their lifelong risk of obesity, a new study says.

“We saw that ultra-processed foods contributed to almost half of a child’s total daily energy intake,” senior researcher Kozeta Miliku, an assistant professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto, said in a news release.

About 45% of the total daily energy intake for Canadian 3-year-olds came from ultra-processed foods, researchers reported in a new study published Jan. 31 in JAMA Network Open.

And higher intake of these foods at age 3 is linked to excess weight, higher body-mass index (BMI) and more body fat by age 5, researchers added.

Ultra-processed foods typically are factory-made fare containing high levels of sugar, fat and salt. They’re a patchwork of ingredients, additives and preservatives engineered for flavor and shelf-life.

Examples include chicken nuggets, frozen meals, hot dogs, canned soups, potato chips, soft drinks, sugary breakfast cereals, ice cream, packaged breads, flavored yogurts and condiments like ketchup and mayonnaise.

As a mother of a 3-year-old, Miliku understands firsthand how hard it is to provide a well-balanced diet while avoiding ultra-processed foods.

“Ultra-processed foods are very accessible and a handy solution for busy days,” Miliku said. “We are all doing our best to make sure our children are fed, but there are opportunities for us to improve their diet.”

For the new study, Miliku and her colleagues analyzed data from more than 2,200 kids enrolled in a long-scale research project tracking children’s health.

Families completed detailed food questionnaires when their kids were 3, and researchers compared those responses to physical measurements taken of the same children at age 5.

Ultra-processed foods made up about 46% of daily calories for boys and 44% of calories for girls, results show.

In boys, every 10% increase in daily calories from ultra-processed foods was linked to a 19% increased risk of overweight or obesity, researchers found.

Ultra-processed foods also increased boys’ risk of higher BMI, waist-to-height ratio and body fat, the study says. No similar links were found in girls. (BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.)

These foods tend to be very energy-dense, and high levels of fat, salt and sugar could encourage kids to eat more than they should, researchers said.

And the difference in boys makes sense, in that previous studies have shown that they tend to consume more calorie-dense foods than girls.

Regulators could help parents by requiring prominent nutrition labels that make it easier to spot healthier, less processed options, Miliku said.

For example, France uses a Nutri-Score label that color-codes the healthiness of food from A to E, Miliku pointed out.

Food-specific taxes also could be used to encourage people to eat healthier foods, Miliku added.

“Canada is falling behind in this area,” Miliku concluded. “With overweight and obesity affecting nearly one in three children in this country, it’s scary that we are not taking more action.”

More information

Harvard Medical School has more on ultra-processed foods.

SOURCE: University of Toronto, news release, Feb. 3, 2025