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Highlights
• An issue that is becoming more crucial is how packaged food affects children's health.
• Comparing packaged food to home-cooked meals, packaged food has higher concentrations of sugar, salt, fat, and calories, increasing a child’s risk of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, among other health issues.
• Eating out less and cutting back on processed foods can also help reduce the amount of packaged food a child consumes.
• Educating children about the importance of healthy eating can help reduce the consumption of packaged food.
Plain Language Summary
Packaged foods are often high in sugar, salt, fat, additives, preservatives, artificial colors, and flavors but low in nutrients. These substances often lead to weight gain, delayed growth and development, type 2 diabetes, damage to teeth, food poisoning, and many other health problems. It is recommended that parents avoid giving packaged food to their children as much as possible and prepare meals from scratch at home. Eating out less and reducing the consumption of processed foods can also help reduce the amount of packaged food a child eats. Also, teaching children about healthy eating can help them develop healthy habits.