New York, Sep 8 : Are your kids addicted with “gateway food items” like cereals, bread and desserts, sodas, candy and more? It’s time to monitor your child’s daily intake.According to a recent study, certain foods that are processed like pastries, candy and frozen desserts could be “gateway” food items for adolescents, which could cause them to consume higher amounts of other unhealthy food items.
“Ultra-processed food items are designed to be palatable or designed to be addictive in the best way they can be,” said Maria Balhara from Broward College in Florida in the US.
Balhara conducted the research while she was enrolled in dual classes at Broward College, while also attending Cooper City High School.
“They’re also affordable and easy to prepare, making them difficult to resist.The majority of people consume too much of these foods, and don’t even realize they are doing it,” she added.
The research suggests that cutting down on consumption of important gateway foods eventually affects the consumption of processed foods that are high in salt, sugar trans fats, trans fats that are harmful and artificial colours and flavours.
The study was founded on data collected from 315 teens between 13 and 19 years.
The study examined how often teens consumed 12 ultra-processed food items in the previous 8 weeks.
The study found that, among the gateway foods identified the increased consumption of frozen desserts, pastries, and sweets was associated with an increase in consumption of all other ultra-processed food items by 11 percent 12, 12 and 31 per cent , respectively.
They also found that 43 percent of the teens believed that they increased their consumption of food items that were processed after restrictions on pandemics were lifted in comparison with their consumption prior to the pandemic.
“For teens who’s consumption of ultra-processed food is not yet established, certain foods that are gateway like candy, store-bought desserts and pastries should be avoided as the an increase in consumption of these foods is likely to increase consumption of other processed food items,” Balhara said.
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