Their cheeks are chubbier, their eyes slightly sunken and their teeth overcrowded.
These are the faces of children who have been raised on ultra-processed foods, which health experts are warning can irreversibly change the shape of your face.
Dailymail.com used an AI image generator to see how children’s faces would develop differently if they were fed a diet of junk food, with input from leading dentists who say they are noticing a trend.
Dr Ben Miraglia – a New York dentist with more than 30 years of experience – says popular ultra-processed foods such as burgers, fries, and processed meats are too soft for the mouth.
If these items are eaten repeatedly and from a young age, he says that jaw muscles will not develop properly and this will impact the way the jaw bones grow.
An underdeveloped jaw can then lead to whole host of health problems including to crowded or crooked teeth, narrow airways, and even poor posture.
In DailyMail.com’s AI generated images, the changes can be seen in the children’s faces after we plugged Dr Miraglia’s descriptions into the system.
As the children age, these features will worsen with expensive cosmetic dentistry required to fix the overcrowded teeth. A poor diet can also lead to sunken eyes, as vitamin and mineral deficiencies can cause the skin to lose collagen and elastin.
Dailymail.com used an AI image generator to see how children’s faces would develop differently if they were fed a diet of junk food. On the left, an image shows a child living on a balanced diet, while on the left, an image shows the same child if he were was only consuming ultra-processed foods. Some of the negative facial impacts include an underdeveloped jaw, overcrowded teeth and more sunken eyes
Explaining how ultra-processed foods can alter the shape of the face, New Mexico-based dentist Dr Noha Oushy says: ‘Our ancestors ate tougher, more fibrous foods that required significant chewing effort, which helped stimulate and strengthen jaw muscles and promote proper growth.
‘In contrast, modern diets are often dominated by processed, soft foods that require little chewing.
‘The lack of chewing reduces the mechanical stimulus needed for jaw expansion and development, leading to smaller, narrower jaws.
‘This can result in misaligned or crowded teeth because the dental arch is underdeveloped and does not have sufficient room for all the teeth to fit naturally.’
It is estimated that more than 70 percent of calories consumed by children and adolescents in the US come from ultra-processed foods.
This compares to around 30 percent three decades ago.
A CDC study states that ultra-processed foods are ‘formulations of macronutrients (starches, sugars, fats, and protein isolates) with little, if any, whole food and often with added flavors, colors, emulsifiers, and other cosmetic additives’.
Examples of ultra-processed foods given include soft drinks, packaged salty snacks, cookies and cakes, processed meats, chicken nuggets, and powdered and packaged instant soups.
But they can also include some healthier options such as wholegrain breakfast cereals, wholemeal bread, canned beans and tofu, which are softer and more palatable compared to pure ingredients.
Ultra-processed foods are typically energy-dense products, high in calories, added sugar, unhealthy fats, and salt, and low in dietary fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals.
The level of consumption is generally high in high-income countries where the products are more accessible but it is increasing in low-and middle-income countries.
On the left, an AI-generated image shows a child living on a balanced diet, while on the left, an image shows the same child if he were was only consuming junk food. Experts say an underdeveloped jaw, caused by the soft food, can then lead to whole host of health problems including to crowded or crooked teeth, narrow airways, and even poor posture
An AI-generated image showing a young girl being raised on a balanced diet, on the left. On the right, the same girl’s face appears rounder after living on ultra-processed foods, as her jaw muscles and bones haven’t been able to develop properly
Research has shown that high intake of ultra-processed foods is associated with a range of health problems including obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.
A recent study out of Spain also looked at how these foods can be behind an alarming change in children’s faces.
Spanish scientists who tracked dozens of young children discovered that consuming a diet primarily made up of UPFs, which are typically soft and hyper-palatable, impacted jaw development.
Dr Laura Marques Martinez, an expert in pediatric dentistry at the Catholic University of Valencia and study co-author, 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 jaw, 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.’
To help prevent an underdeveloped jaw, the experts advise adding tougher foods to your diet including raw vegetables, nuts, and hard fruits.
Chewing tougher foods will help develop jaw muscles and support proper jaw alignment.
At the same time, they suggest reducing the intake of soft, processed foods that do not require much chewing.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
