Parents are already bewildered by conflicting advice on what to feed babies – now researchers are warning against veggie puffs, despairs Phoebe Arslanagić-Little

Last week, researchers from the University of Leeds warned parents that they are “setting their children up for a lifetime of obesity” by feeding babies ultra processed food, or UPFs. The researchers are calling for the government to actually intervene to stop parents from giving their children these foods by banning them.

UPFs are defined rather hazily. Celebrity doctor Chris van Tulleken popularised the term a few years ago and describes UPFs as containing ingredients that one would not usually find in a home kitchen, or as any food created for profit rather than to provide nutrients. Eating UPFs is associated with negative health outcomes, but the evidence on direct harm is weak and it’s very hard to control for confounding factors.

The main type of food........

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