Kids and teens in the U.S. get the majority of their calories from ultra-processed foods like frozen pizza, microwavable meals, chips and cookies, a new study has found.

一项新的研究发现，美国的儿童和青少年从冷冻比萨饼、微波炉餐、薯片和饼干等超加工食品中获取大部分热量。

Two-thirds — or 67% — of calories consumed by children and adolescents in 2018 came from ultra-processed foods, a jump from 61% in 1999, according to a peer-reviewed study published in the medical journal JAMA. The research, which analyzed the diets of 33,795 youths age 2 to 19 across the U.S., noted the "overall poorer nutrient profile" of the ultra-processed foods.

根据发表在医学杂志《美国医学会杂志》上的一项同行评审研究，2018年儿童和青少年消费的三分之二--或67%--的卡路里来自超加工食品，比1999年的61%有所上升。这项研究分析了全美国33,795名2至19岁青少年的饮食，指出超加工食品的 "整体营养成分较差"。

"This is particularly worrisome for children and adolescents because they are at a critical life stage to form dietary habits that can persist into adulthood," says Fang Fang Zhang, the study's senior author and a nutrition and cancer epidemiologist at Tuft University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and policy. "A diet high in ultra-processed foods may negatively influence children's dietary quality and contribute to adverse health outcomes in the long term."

"该研究的高级作者、图夫特大学弗里德曼营养科学和政策学院的营养和癌症流行病学家张芳芳说："这对儿童和青少年来说特别令人担忧，因为他们正处于形成饮食习惯的关键生命阶段，这种习惯可以持续到成年期。"超加工食品含量高的饮食可能对儿童的饮食质量产生负面影响，并导致长期的不良健康结果"。

One reason for the increase may be the convenience of ultra-processed foods, Zhang says. Industrial processing, such as changing the physical structure and chemical composition of foods, not only gives them a longer shelf life but also a more appetizing taste.

张说，增加的一个原因可能是超加工食品的便利性。工业加工，如改变食品的物理结构和化学成分，不仅使它们有更长的保质期，而且有更多令人胃口的味道。

"Things like sugar, corn syrup, some hemp oil and other ingredients that we usually don't usually use in our kitchen, that are extracted from foods and synthesized in the laboratory, those are being added in the final product of ultra-processed foods," Zhang said. "A purpose of doing this is to make them highly palatable. So kids will like those foods that somehow make it hard to resist."

"像糖、玉米糖浆、一些麻油和其他我们通常在厨房里不常使用的成分，这些都是从食物中提取并在实验室中合成的，这些都被添加到超加工食品的最终产品中，"张说。"这样做的一个目的是使它们具有高度的适口性。所以孩子们会喜欢那些在某种程度上让人难以抗拒的食物。"
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During the same two-decade period when the study data was collected, the consumption of unprocessed or minimally processed foods decreased to 23.5% from 28.8%, the study found.

研究发现，在收集研究数据的同一个二十年期间，未加工或最小加工食品的消费从28.8%下降到23.5%。

The greatest increase in calories came from ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat meals such as pizza, sandwiches and hamburgers, rising to 11.2% of calories from 2.2%. Packaged sweet snacks and treats such as cakes and ice cream were a runner-up, which made up 12.9% of calorie consumption in 2018, compared to 10.6% in 1999.

卡路里的最大增长来自即食或即热餐，如比萨饼、三明治和汉堡包，占卡路里的比例从2.2%上升到11.2%。包装好的甜食和点心，如蛋糕和冰淇淋是亚军，在2018年占卡路里消费的12.9%，而1999年为10.6%。

When broken down by race and ethnicity, the growth in consumption of ultra-processed foods was significantly higher for Black, non-Hispanic youth, compared to white, non-Hispanic youths. The study also noted that Mexican American youths consumed ultra-processed foods at a persistently lower rate, which the researchers said may indicate more home cooking by Hispanic families.

当按种族和族裔细分时，与白人非西班牙裔青年相比，黑人非西班牙裔青年对超加工食品的消费增长明显更高。该研究还指出，墨西哥裔美国青年消费超加工食品的比率一直较低，研究人员说这可能表明西班牙裔家庭有更多的家庭烹饪。

The study also found that the education levels of parents or family income didn't affect consumption of ultra-processed foods, suggesting that these types of foods are common in many households.

该研究还发现，父母的教育水平或家庭收入并不影响超加工食品的消费，这表明这些类型的食品在许多家庭很常见。
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But the responsibility for tackling this problem shouldn't fall only on parents, Zhang says.

张说，但是解决这个问题的责任不应该只落在父母身上。

While she would encourage parents and children to consider "replacing ultra-processed foods with minimally and unprocessed foods," Zhang says changes at the policy level are needed "to achieve a broader and more sustainable impact."

虽然她鼓励父母和孩子们考虑 "用最小化和未加工的食品取代超加工食品"，但张说需要在政策层面上进行改变，"以实现更广泛和更持久的影响"。

Take, for instance, consumption of soda. The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages dropped to 5.3% from 10.8% of overall calories. The study's researchers noted that the decline could be related to efforts such as soda taxes and raising awareness about the effects sugar has on youth health.

以苏打水的消费为例。含糖饮料的消费量从占总热量的10.8%下降到5.3%。该研究的研究人员指出，这种下降可能与苏打水税和提高对糖对青少年健康影响的认识等努力有关。

"We may have won this battle, at least partially for some sugary beverages," Zhang says, "but we haven't yet against ultra-processed foods."

"我们可能已经赢得了这场战斗，至少部分赢得了一些含糖饮料，"张说，"但我们还没有赢得对超加工食品的战斗。"

This widespread reliance on junk food is an increasing public health concern, as the obesity rate has been rising steadily among U.S. youths for the past two decades.

这种对垃圾食品的广泛依赖是一个日益严重的公共健康问题，因为在过去20年里，美国青少年的肥胖率一直在稳步上升。

While the study's authors said that the relationship between childhood obesity and ultra-processed foods is complex, they acknowledge that "cohort studies provide consistent evidence suggesting high intake of ultra-processed foods contribute to obesity in children and young adults."

虽然该研究的作者说，儿童肥胖和超加工食品之间的关系很复杂，但他们承认，"队列研究提供了一致的证据，表明超加工食品的高摄入量有助于儿童和年轻成年人的肥胖"。

Indeed, a 2019 study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health found that a diet filled with ultra-processed foods encourages people to overeat and gain weight compared to diets that consist of whole or minimally processed foods.

事实上，美国国立卫生研究院的研究人员在2019年的一项研究中发现，与由完整或最小加工食品组成的饮食相比，充满超加工食品的饮食鼓励人们暴饮暴食并增加体重。