High consumption of ultraprocessed foods in childhood impacts the metabolome and is tied to a heightened risk of obesity, suggests a study conducted among UK children and adolescents.

The findings, presented at the virtual European Congress on Obesity (ECO), stated that the ultraprocessed food proportion of total daily food consumption (in kcal) was a mean of 61.1% at age 7.5 years (midchildhood) and 57.8% at 13 years (adolescence).In midchildhood, 128 out of the initial 232 metabolic traits were significantly associated with ultraprocessed food intake, and 98 of these associations remained following adjustments. A diet having a higher proportion of ultraprocessed food had a negative correlation with metabolites including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and omega-3 fatty acids, tyrosine, and BCAAs (leucine, valine, and isoleucine), and small, medium, and large HDL… (Medscape)