 "Are your teeth misaligned? Ultra-processed foods are to blame")
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) such as soft drinks, ice cream, breakfast cereals, chips and chocolate are not good for your children. They could impact how our bodies grow, particularly our jaws, scientists have warned.
Ultra-processed foods, which are high in calories, saturated fat, sugar or salt, have previously been associated with obesity, strokes, type 2 diabetes and cancer.
New research has linked the shrinking of the jaws of the younger generation to ultra-processed foods. The researchers, from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the Catholic University of Valencia, have blamed the modern diet for dental deformities like buck teeth in children.
Let’s take a closer look.
How diets affect our jaws
Several studies have revealed that diets impact the development of the human jawbone.
Populations that depend on agriculture are found to have usually smaller jawbones than hunter-gatherers whose diet was rich in meat and foraged foods.
Differences have also been found in the size and shape of the jawbones of people pre- and post-industrialisation, a time when they started consuming more processed foods.
According to a previous study from the University of Kent, many common orthodontic problems that people in industrialised nations faced were because of “their soft modern diet causing the jaw to grow too short and small relative to the size of their teeth”.
Experts say the size of the jawbone has vastly reduced over time, as per The Guardian. They say this could explain the reason why many people report dental overcrowding, crooked teeth or misaligned bite (malocclusion).
Are UPFs shrinking jaws?
Ultra-processed foods are usually soft and do not require much chewing. Now, scientists worry this could lead to children developing smaller jawbones.
Last year, Spanish scientists examined the diets of 25 children aged three to five. They found that children who consumed mostly liquids and/or semi-solid foods had smaller gaps between their lower teeth than those who majorly had a solid diet, reported The Guardian.
The study revealed that eating softer foods could leave children with buck teeth and lack natural gaps, which are necessary to allow larger teeth to grow later on.
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What do experts say?
Experts explain how chewing solid foods helps in proper jaw development while eating ultra-processed foods hampers growth.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Laura Marques Martinez, one of the researchers, said: “Chewing plays a crucial role in the proper development of the jaws as it stimulates bone growth, strengthens facial muscles, and promotes proper dental alignment.
“Chewing solid and fibrous foods, such as fruits, vegetables, or natural proteins, exercises the jaws, helping to prevent issues like malocclusion (misalignment of teeth) and deficiencies in the size and shape of dental arches.
“On the other hand, diets based on ultra-processed foods, which are soft and require minimal effort to chew, negatively impact jaw development. These foods, by failing to adequately stimulate the maxillofacial muscles and bones, can lead to underdeveloped bone structures and increase the risk of malocclusion and respiratory problems.”
Professor Tim Spector, best known for his work on gut health, told The Telegraph: “The strongest current theory about why the jaws have been shrinking so rapidly is that we’re feeding our kids baby food really for the whole of their lives – so that they just don’t develop the jaw muscles or the size of the jaw, and you aren’t really adapted for chewing.
“This is just another sign of how western countries like the UK and the US have succumbed to this wave of soft, ultra-processed foods that is now the main diet of children, so many of whom are never really having hard proper foods.”
He said the debate on UPFs has not focused on their soft texture, which makes them easier to consume in large quantities, leading to obesity and shrinking of jaws.
Some experts do not believe that ultra-processed foods would lead to such a significant reduction in the size of jaws, with Dr Carolyn Rando, an associate professor in bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology at UCL, pointing out to The Guardian that the softness of the food has remained “similar” for years now.
Even if diet impacted jaw development, it would have occurred over decades of evolution, Dr Hayley Llandro, the director of external relations for the British Orthodontic Society, told The Guardian. “There are not only environmental factors in skeletal and tooth development – genetics plays a significant role as well. Unfortunately, simply eating more food that needs chewing will not override our pre-existing genetic tendencies."
However, she said that slashing UPFs in diets could be good, as these foods are often high in sugar which might result in tooth decay. “We would also say to parents not to be concerned that they need to feed their children hard foods just to prevent the need for braces, as this is not a guarantee.”
With inputs from agencies
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