How to free YOUR family from ultra-processed food: In a major new series, top nutritionist ROB HOBSON reveals how to clean up your diet with simple and healthy meals everyone will love By ROB HOBSON Published: 01:39, 4 January 2025 | Updated: 01:39, 4 January 2025 e-mail 1 View comments From the staples in our store cupboards to the emergency ready meals in our freezers, ultra-processed foods have crept into our lives at a terrifying rate. As a nutritionist I spend a lot of my time overhauling what people eat, so I'm more aware than most of the amount of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) many adults are eating. But I have become increasingly alarmed at how much of this rubbish our children are also consuming.
From the takeaways my nieces order on speed dial, to the school children you see emerging from corner shops laden with chocolate, crisps, sweets and fizzy drinks, it sadly doesn't surprise me that Brits now rank among some of the biggest consumers of UPFs in the world – only just behind the junk food fuelled Americans. (UPFs form an estimated 54 per cent of our diet compared to 56 per cent in the US.) Think your family is immune? Well, that's unlikely because this isn't just about the food children are eating when we're not with them, it's also about what we feed them at home.
Your kitchen may be a Pot Noodle and Pringle-free zone, but what about that bowl of cereal for breakfast? Ultra-processed. Or the ham sandwich you put in your child's packed lunch? Made with UPFs. (I .
