Are your children love these little melted cheeses, chicken nuggets and other breakfast cereals? Please note: a study of 60 million consumers Alert on the omnipresence of ultra -formed products in the food of the youngest – and the dangers they represent.
Of course, they generally combine an attractive price, quick and easy preparation, and sometimes even attractive health allegations. Above all, they are good! Normal, since they are transformed for this purpose, with a lot of aromas, blown cereals, anti -aglomerants or even emulsifiers. Result, almost half of the foods consumed by children (46 %) are ultra -formed products. It is much more than for adults, who consume “only” 36 %.
Additives, industrial processes …
What is ultra -formed (AUT) foods? These are foods ” which contain additives, aromas and/or compounds called “cosmetic” food derived from food (glucose syrup, protein isolates, beet fibers …) and which are produced from complex industrial processes such as fractionation, blowing, extrusion, etc. 60 million consumers. The fact remains that, in the absence of a universal definition, no specific regulations are applied to them.
However, eloquent studies follow one another. In essence, the more we consume these products, the more we expose themselves to risks of obesity, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes or even depressed disorders – at least. Among the advanced hypotheses for theExplain, the consumption of ultra -formed food would increase energy intake. Thus, an American study of 2019 conducted by nutrition expert Kevin Hall separated his participants into two groups. Everyone ate the same dishes for two weeks – homemade in the first group, ultra -formed in the other. In both groups, the dishes proposed were identical in terms of caloric value, and quantities of sugar, fats and fibers. But participants could eat as much as they wanted.
+2kg in 15 days
Result ? Lhe volunteers of the “ultra -formed” group consumed on average 500 more calories every day, more lipids and carbohydrates, less protein, and took an average of 2 kg, in just two weeks. It is not surprising, according to Antony Fardet, Nutrition Research in INRAE: “The nutrients of a food are in a raw matrix which is often very degraded by the ultra -training processes. This alteration has an impact on chewing, satiety and speed with which the sugar level will increase in the blood … This deregulates food intake, “he explains.
And this is all the more a problem in children – even with products that “give the illusion of being healthy”, notes 60 million consumerswhich analyzed 43 products dedicated to the youngest. Conclusion: 81 % are ultra -formed, with sometimes up to seven “markers” (ingredients or processes) of ultra -training. In the same category, some displayed up to seven, others. “Proof that it is possible to do without,” says the consumer defense organization. Besides, reports the magazine, Blédidej cereals (from six months) contains seven markers, when his competitor Hipp has none. The same goes for white yogurts and cheeses: none at the little Swiss Gervais de Danone, six for the Pat’Patrol de Yoplait, and four for the Danonino.
A relationship to food modified from childhood
Beyond the likely effects on health, ultra-formed foods permanently modify the relationship to diet: they more quickly fill the feeling of hunger, which pushes to eat more. They are generally designed to be more “pleasant” (softer, more melting, more soft, etc.), which changes taste and habits. Thus, “cosmetic additives and compounds such as dyes, tastes modifiers, texture and aromas present in these foods standardize the taste. They accustom children to exacerbated flavors and textures far from those of real foods with the risk of diverting them, “deplores Antony Fardet.
Pascal Nourtier, nutritionist and dietitian, testifies to 60 million consumers From an evolution in its patients: “I see more and more children who, out of nuggets and Cordons-Bleus, do not eat anything. They overconsume these products, which create a form of dependence. Parents are quite distraught. I didn’t see that 10 years ago, “he laments. Faced with long -term health risks but also for better food development, Antony Fardet recommends applying “the precautionary principle” and “reducing the proportion of these foods in our diets, especially in children”.
