A new study suggests that a single food item increases our children’s consumption of junk food or other ultra-processed foods by up to 31%.

The findings show that limiting the consumption of certain gateway foods could have an effect on the overall consumption of ultra-processed foods, which are heavy in sugar, salt, harmful trans fat, and artificial tastes and colors.

Some ultra-processed foods, like candy, pastries, and frozen desserts, may be “gateway” foods for teenagers, leading them to eat more other unhealthy snacks, says a new study to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2022 in San Diego, September 7–10, 2022.

The research shows that cutting back on certain “gateway” foods could have an effect on how much ultra-processed foods, which are high in sugar, salt, unhealthy trans fat, and artificial flavors and colors, are eaten overall. More than sixty percent of the calories that Americans consume on a daily basis come from foods that have been highly processed, such as bread, cereals, sweets, sodas, and processed meats. High intake of ultra-processed foods has been associated with early death, heart disease risk, weight gain, and hypertension in the past.

According to Maria Balhara, the study’s principal researcher and a student at Broward College in Davie, Florida, “ultra-processed foods are designed to be hyper-palatable, or engineered to be as addictive as possible. 

“They’re also cheap and convenient, which makes them hard to resist. Most people are eating too many of these foods without realizing it.”

Balhara, who is only 16, directed the study while still a dual-enrollment student at Broward College and a sophomore at Cooper City High School, giving her a fresh and insightful viewpoint on adolescent eating habits.

During the previous 8 weeks, Balhara collected information on how frequently adolescents consumed 12 ultra-processed food items. Prepackaged cookies, candies, chips, chocolate, energy drinks, frozen desserts, soda, store-bought pastries, store-bought smoothies, coffee or tea sweetened with syrup, white bread, and processed meat were among the ultra-processed items. 315 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 19 were recruited for the study from 12 South Florida high schools between February and April 2022. Participants had an average BMI of 22.8 (showing normal body weight), and 56 percent of them self-identified as white, 25.2 percent as Hispanic, and 7.6 percent as black.  Furthermore, of the participants, 52.2 percent identified as female, 41.6 percent as male, 3.2 percent as nonbinary, and the other individuals did not define their gender.

Participants responded to a questionnaire created by Balhara called the Processed Intake Evaluation (PIE). The survey asked how often they ate each of the 12 processed foods in the last 8 weeks in 2022. It also asked questions to compare their consumption in 2022 (after COVID 19 restrictions were lifted) to what they thought they would eat in 2019 (before COVID restrictions were implemented). Students were asked to say “true” or “false” to statements like “I often drank soda during the preceding 8 weeks in 2022” or “I often drank soda prior to the pandemic in 2019.” Their answers were used to give them a PIE score from 0 to 100, with “often” answers getting 8.33 points and other answers getting 0 points. The scores they received for their consumption in 2022 were compared to the scores they received for their predicted consumption in 2019 before the pandemic.

It was found that candy, prepackaged pastries, and frozen desserts could act as a “gateway” to make people eat more (or less) of other processed foods. Teenagers who reduced their intake of these “gateway” items had a higher likelihood of reducing their intake of all other ultra-processed foods.

Among the foods found to be gateways, the study found:

Increased consumption of frozen desserts was linked to an increase in consumption of all other ultra-processed foods by 11%, pastries to an increase in consumption of all ultra-processed foods by 12%, and candy to an increase in consumption of all ultra-processed foods by 31%.
The study also discovered that 57% of adolescents believed their consumption had decreased as determined by their PIE score, whereas 43% of them believed their consumption of ultra-processed foods had grown after the pandemic restrictions were relaxed.

Reduced consumption of processed meats was linked to an 8% reduction in consumption of all other ultra-processed foods among study participants. White bread consumption was linked to a 9% reduction in consumption of all other ultra-processed foods, and prepackaged cookies consumption was linked to a 10% reduction in consumption of all other ultra-processed foods.

Since increased intake of these items appears to lead to increased consumption of other processed foods, Balhara advised avoiding foods like candy, store-bought pastries, and frozen desserts for teens whose consumption of ultra-processed foods has not yet been established.

“The good news,” she added, “is that even small changes, such as reducing how often you eat a few gateway foods, may reduce overall consumption of unhealthy foods and have a big impact on your overall health.”

Donna K. Arnett, Ph.D., executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of South Carolina and a former president of the American Heart Association, said, “I commend Ms. Balhara for her project, which highlights the importance of establishing good dietary patterns early in life. 

“The relationship between poor dietary quality and cardiovascular risk factors is well-established. While this is a small, preliminary study, it’s an important topic to continue to investigate and help us understand ways we can influence dietary behaviors to promote optimal cardiovascular health for all ages.”

The fact that the information acquired was self-reported was one of the limitations of the study. Another drawback was that the study could not be generalized to all teenage populations. Additionally, the PIE survey has not been verified, and blood tests to assess the effects of participants’ dietary choices were not included in the study’s health data.

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