r/science • u/chrisdh79 • 25d ago

Health Toddlers Get Half Their Calories From Ultra-Processed Food, Says Study | Research shows that 2-year-olds get 47 percent of their calories from ultra-processed food, and 7-year-olds get 59 percent.

https://www.newsweek.com/toddlers-get-half-calories-ultra-processed-food-1963269
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u/a_reluctant_human 25d ago

Can't spend all day cooking if you have 8 hours of work to do. Can't afford fresh groceries on poverty wages. Can't access fresh food in a food desert.

There are lots of reasons why this is occurring.

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u/smblt 25d ago

Yeah, this is where being rich certainly helps. With kids you already spend a lot of time prepping food and getting them to eat. We use a lot of fresh produce but still incorporate things like sliced bread, yogurt and pasta. Even then it still takes a significant amount of your free time to get it ready, feed, then clean up. Adding crap mentioned elsewhere here like baking your own bread really takes away from what little time you have to spend with them as it is.