According to a recent study, the apple is the best choice for teens.
Ultra-processed foods are foods manufactured from ingredients and additives that have minimal amounts of whole foods. Soda, cakes, cookies, ready-to-eat frozen dinners, salty snacks, instant and canned soups, french fries, candy, ice cream, and store bought desserts are a few examples. There is growing evidence that the greater the consumption of ultra-processed foods the more likely a person will be overweight or obese.
Today, over 9% of children 2 to 19 are obese and another 16% are overweight. Ultra-processed foods make up 66% of the calories eaten by teens in the US. This study added evidence that the more ultra-processed food a teen ate, the more likely they were to be overweight or obese. And many of the teens had a greater proportion of abdominal (belly) fat which increases their risk for chronic low-grade inflammation, heart disease, and diabetes.
Encouraging teens to rely on whole foods more and ultra-processed foods less is important for their long term health and life expectancy.
