67 percent of kids' diets are comprised of ultra-processed foods, according to a new study. As such, kids compromising their nutrition and are consuming more foods that are pre-packaged, full of sugar and salt, and not eating the foods that are full of the vitamins and minerals their bodies need to grow and remain healthy.

Researchers from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy at Tufts University found that from 1999 to 2018, the percentage of ultra-processed food that kids' diets are made up of jumped from 61 percent to 67 percent, according to Medical Xpress. And the culprit is not ultra-processed foods that benefit from being processed to extend their shelf life like breads and dairy products, per the publication. But instead, from foods that lack fiber and are higher in sugar and salt instead.

The study, which was published in the journal, JAMA, analyzed the diets of nearly 34,000 kids and teenagers, ranging in age from two to 19 years old. What they found was that the foods that were most being consumed were those that were pre-packaged and "ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat" foods, which jumped from 2.2 percent to 11.2 percent of the daily calories, according to TuftsNow.

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"Packaged sweet snacks and desserts" also jumped in consumption from 10.6 percent to 12.9 percent of the daily calories, per the publication.

The concern with kids and teens eating more of these foods has to do with the rate at which childhood obesity is rising.

According to MedicalNewsToday, from 1980 to 2013, the worldwide rate at which adults became obese rose by 27.5 percent. During that same period, for kids aged two through 19 years old, the rates of obesity increased by 47.1 percent. More startling still was the fact that of the 188 countries in 21 different regions of the world that were surveyed, every single country reported a rise in the cases of obesity.

Of the children included in the study, from 1980 to 2013, the boys' rates of obesity rose from 17 percent to 24 percent. For girls, the rates rose from 16 percent to 23 percent.

To be considered obese, according to the World Health Organization, the body mass index has to be equal to or over 30. And with that BMI comes an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancers, and osteoarthritis for obese children as they age.

However, obese children have health issues they deal with long before that, which, according to the publication, includes "breathing difficulties, increased risk of fractures, hypertension, early markers of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, and psychological effects."

Researchers found that the consumption of ultra-processed foods saw the largest increase in non-Hispanic Blacks, with a 10.3 percent increase, followed by Mexican Americans with a 7.6 percent increase. Non-Hispanic whites also saw an increase with a jump of 5.2 percent, according to the study.

The income level of parents, nor their education level did not make a difference in whether kids ate ultra-processed foods. According to Medical Xpress, this showed that ultra-processed foods are a part of all kids' diets across the board.

The one bright light in the study was that the consumption of sugary drinks decreased from 10.8 percent to 5.3 percent.

More work needs to be done to eliminate ultra-processed foods from kids' diets. Then and only then, can there be any real decrease in childhood obesity. Without change, obesity rates are only going to climb and life expectancy will begin to fall.

Source: Medical Xpress, TuftsNow, JAMA, MedicalNewsToday, World Health Organization