Junk foods, meaning ultra-processed foods, are known to be a major problem worldwide. These products tend to prove the old adage of "you are what you eat," as these processed foods containing non-dietary ingredients have been linked to numerous physiological and mental problems. However, they remain popular worldwide.
This popularity is due to a number of factors, such as ease of accessibility, affordability, being ready to eat with no preparation, and tending to be seen as tasty.
Likewise, the rise in popularity of junk food has also seen a rise in the various problems this type of food can cause, most notable obesity.
But junk food is also especially popular among children, and it is estimated that 70% of their entire caloric intake comes from it.
But while many negative impacts of junk food have been studied before, the exact link between junk food and childhood skeletal development had only been theorized – until now.
In the first ever comprehensive study on the impact of junk food in this regard, the researchers found that being exposed to such food cause weaker bones and growth retardation. This was even found on a cellular level, as the RNA genetic profiles of cartilage cells showed signs of impaired bone development.
But even in reduced amounts, would there still be notable damage to skeletal development? According to Prof. Efrat Monsonego-Ornan, one of the leaders behind the study, the answer seems to be yes.
This conclusion was reached after they divided the weekly nutritional intake of their lab rodents – 70% came from junk food and 30% came from a "controlled" diet. And while the damage seemed less severe, there was still damage to bone density.
“Our conclusion was that even in reduced amounts, the ultra-processed foods can have a definite negative impact on skeletal growth,” Monsonego-Ornan said in a statement.
And with an average of 50% of all American children eating junk food on a daily basis, these findings are more relevant than ever.
“When Carlos Monteiro, one of the world’s leading experts on nutrition, said that there is no such thing as a healthy ultra-processed food, he was clearly right,” Monsonego-Ornan explained.
“Even if we reduce [their] fats, carbs, nitrates and other known harmful substances, these foods still possess their damaging attributes," she said. "Every part of the body is prone to this damage, and certainly those systems that remain in the critical stages of development.”
The findings of this study were published in the academic journal Bone Research.These findings also come days after researchers at Hebrew University, the Weizmann Institute of Science and Queen Mary University of London made a breakthrough in the fight against obesity.Their study revealed that the "mechanism of action of the master switch for hunger is in the brain," which is confirmed to be the melanocortin receptor 4 (or MC4 for short). This switch can also be triggered by a drug that can be used to treat obesity called setmelanotide.