Children who eat more ultra-processed food gain weight more quickly, study suggests - CNN

"The results of this study are not surprising: children who consume a lot of 'ultra-processed' foods are most likely to be less healthy and more obese than their peers with lower intake.

The interpretation of these results are however much more difficult," he told the Science Media Centre in London.

"The outcome of the study is heavily confounded by socio-economic factors: children living in more deprived areas and from families with lower educational attainment and lower socio-economic status had the highest intake of ultra-processed foods.

The researchers found on, average, that children in the groups that ate more ultra-processed foods saw a more rapid increase in their BMI, weight, waist circumference and body fat as they grew up.

"The associations between body fat measures and ultra-processed food consumption might be caused by these other differences, and not by the ultra-processed food consumption at all."

The researchers used statistical adjustments to account for other factors that could explain the link such as sex, ethnicity, birth weight and physical activity, McConway said.