Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs)
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are products that have undergone multiple stages of industrial processing before reaching your plate. They often contain additives and artificial ingredients — such as flavourings, colourings, emulsifiers, and preservatives — that you wouldn’t typically use in a home kitchen.
A quick way to spot UPFs is by checking the ingredient list. If it’s long and includes names you don’t recognise or can’t easily pronounce, it likely contains additives added for flavour, texture, colour or shelf life.
Why Are UPFs a Concern for Families?
Growing evidence shows that regularly eating ultra-processed foods can negatively affect both short- and long-term health. Studies link high UPF consumption to issues such as poor nutrition, weight gain and unhealthy eating habits.
In general, UPFs tend to:
Be lower in essential nutrients that our bodies need.
Be high in sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats, which we should eat in smaller amounts.
Be highly palatable (very tasty and easy to eat), making it easy to overconsume beyond recommended portion size
The Impact on Our Children
Research shows that ultra-processed foods (UPFs) can have a significant impact on children’s long-term health, behaviour, and wellbeing.
Key Findings
1. Taste Preferences
Regularly eating UPFs from an early age can shape children’s taste preferences, making them favour sweet and salty flavours over the natural taste of whole foods. This can lead to lifelong eating habits and attitudes that make it harder to choose healthier options later in life.
2. Weight and Obesity
UPFs are often soft in texture and easy to overeat, leading to higher calorie intake compared with more solid, fibre-rich, or “crunchy” foods. Over time, this can contribute to weight gain and obesity.
3. Brain Function
Emerging research suggests that diets high in UPFs may affect brain development, increasing the risk of mental health issues such as anxiety and depression in children.
4. Behaviour
The high sugar content in many UPFs can cause spikes and drops in blood sugar and insulin levels, which may influence mood, concentration, and behaviour, and have been linked to hyperactivity and ADHD.
Top Tips for Reducing UPFs
You don’t need to cut out UPFs completely, small, consistent changes can make a big difference. Try to include these habits throughout the week:
- Cook from scratch. Homemade meals are often more affordable, especially when using seasonal vegetables and simple ingredients.
- Focus on whole foods. Add more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and legumes to your family’s meals.
- Limit processed snacks. Reduce how often you offer crisps, biscuits, fizzy drinks, and sugary cereals.
- Read food labels. Check ingredient lists to understand what’s in the food you’re buying and how it affects your body.
Understanding Food Labels
Many food packages use traffic light colour coding to show whether a product contains high, medium, or low levels of fat, saturated fat, sugars, and salt:
🟥 Red = High
🟧 Amber = Medium
🟩 Green = Low
In general, foods and drinks with mostly green indicators are the healthier choices.
A red label means the item is high in fat, saturated fat, salt, or sugar, these should be limited, especially for children. When possible, choose products that are low or medium in saturated fat and sugar, and low in salt.
It’s important to remember that each colour category covers a range. For example, a food labelled ‘medium’ for sugar could contain anywhere between 5g and 22.5g of sugar per 100g. This means some “medium” options may still be quite sugary.
To reduce sugar intake, check the ‘per 100g’ information on the label and select products with the lowest sugar content.