Kids who eat more ultra-processed foods show a troubling brain response
A new study suggests that ultra-processed foods may influence children's developing brains in ways that encourage weight gain. Researchers from USC studied 46 children ages 7 to 10 and found that those who ate more ultra-processed foods showed stronger activity in the brain's reward system when viewing tempting foods like cookies and French fries. These heightened brain responses were linked to greater increases in…
Key points
- Children eating more ultra-processed foods showed stronger brain reward responses to food pictures.
- Stronger responses were linked to greater increases in BMI and body fat over one year.
- The study of 46 children aged seven to 10 was observational and cannot show causation.
A new study published in JAMA Network Open found that children who eat more ultra-processed foods show heightened activity in the brain's reward system when viewing pictures of appetizing foods. Those stronger responses were also associated with increases in body fat over the following year.
The research, supported in part by the National Institutes of Health, studied 46 children aged seven to 10 enrolled in the ongoing BrainChild study. All participants had a healthy weight when the research began.
What the brain scans showed
Children who consumed larger amounts of ultra-processed foods showed greater activity in the dorsal striatum, a brain region that helps regulate reward and motivation, when viewing food pictures. Children with stronger responses in this region tended to have greater increases in BMI and body fat percentage over the next year.
By the end of the study, children who ate more ultra-processed foods generally had higher BMI, greater body fat percentage and larger waist circumference. Adjusting for dorsal striatum responses weakened the link between ultra-processed food intake and BMI by 31% and the link with body fat percentage by 44%.
Children's brains are still developing, habits are still forming and food preferences are still being made.
— Kathleen A. Page, MD
Cautions and next steps
The researchers note the study was observational, so it cannot determine whether ultra-processed foods directly cause heightened brain activity or weight gain. The senior author, Kathleen A. Page, MD, of the Keck School of Medicine of USC, said the work gives insight into the neurobiological underpinnings by which these foods may be linked to body composition over time.
Page said changing the food environment so people can access healthier, more minimally processed foods is an important part of the solution. She hopes to run a future intervention study giving children more minimally processed alternatives, while the BrainChild study continues tracking participants through puberty and into early adulthood.
