If there are two things that are likely to inspire dire warnings about the state of nutrition, it’s the rise of ultra-processed food and the general poor state of our children’s diets. What happens when those two things are put together is clearly important, and a new study has highlighted some possible risks of this combination (https://longevity.technology/lifestyle/consuming-ultra-processed-foods-is-linked-to-how-teens-feel-and-behave-according-to-study/).
It’s not an American study. It was carried out in Spain in a joint project between the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) and the Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBGI). People in Spain are eating three times as much ultra-processed food as they were just a few years ago. The study looked at whether this was affecting adolescent mental health.
Ultra-processed food includes sausages and other processed meat, cookies, chocolate products, some sauces, flavored yogurts, bread, pastries, chips, sugary cereals, soft drinks and some fruit juices.
The results weren’t great. Participants were aged 13 to 18, and those who were eating more ultra-processed food reported greater rates of mental health issues than those who did not. To be precise, 33.9% of participants experienced depression and anxiety (defined as emotional distress), 26.2% displayed psychosocial issues, 9.5% had problems with attention, and 3.9% had trouble with behavior.
There was a gender division among the results. For example, girls were more likely to experience mental health problems than boys. This was despite the fact that they tended to consume slightly less ultra-processed food, averaging around 7 pieces a day compared to boys’ 8.6. They also ate more fruit and vegetables on average, 2 portions compared to 1.7 (the recommendation is 5 a day), but they only exercised for an average of 2.3 days, whereas boys were active for an average of 3.6 days.
Of course, just showing a correlation between ultra-processed food and mental health isn’t the same as proving definitive causation. It’s clear that things like exercise also have an impact. The more severe reactions among boys may relate to which kinds of ultra-processed foods they eat or the lack of fruit and vegetables in their diet. Still, this study is consistent with previous research, and it’s worrying for those concerned about adolescent health.
More research needs to be done if we want to fully understand this concerning link between mental issues and the consumption of ultra-processed food in teens.
