A new narrative review pulling together 84 studies suggests that ultra-processed foods, packaged snacks, sugary drinks, ready meals, eaten during pregnancy and early childhood may cast a long shadow over a child’s health, since these foods tend to be heavy on sugar, salt, and additives while stripping out fiber and key nutrients, and researchers found links between higher intake and poorer maternal diet quality, excess weight gain, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and increased inflammation, while early childhood exposure was tied to altered gut microbiota, obesity risk, and even developmental effects; the evidence is largely observational, so it can’t prove cause and effect, but the consistency across dozens of studies is strong enough that researchers say cutting back on ultra-processed foods during these sensitive stages is a public health priority worth taking seriously.
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