Their cheeks are chubbier, their eyes are slightly sunken, and their teeth are crowded.
These are the faces of children who were raised on ultra-processed foods, which health experts say 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 notice 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 foods are eaten repeatedly and from a young age, he says the jaw muscles will not develop properly, impacting the growth of the jaw bones.
An underdeveloped jaw can then lead to a range of health problems, including crowded or crooked teeth, narrow airways and even poor posture.
In DailyMail.com’s AI-generated images, the changes are visible in children’s faces after we plugged Dr. Miraglia’s descriptions into the system.
As children age, these features will worsen due to the expensive cosmetic dental work needed to repair crowded teeth. A poor diet can also lead to sunken eyes, as vitamin and mineral deficiencies can lead to loss of collagen and elastin in the skin.
Dailymail.com used an AI image generator to see how children’s faces would develop differently if they were fed 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 only consumed ultra-processed foods. Some of the negative impacts on the face include an underdeveloped jaw, overcrowded teeth, and more sunken eyes.
Explaining how ultra-processed foods can change facial shape, New Mexico-based dentist Dr Noha Oushy says: “Our ancestors ate harder, more fibrous foods that required significant chewing effort, which helped to stimulate and strengthen the jaw muscles and promote good growth. .
“In contrast, modern diets are often dominated by processed, soft foods that require little chewing.
“Lack of chewing reduces the mechanical stimulus necessary for jaw expansion and development, leading to smaller, narrower jaws.”
“This can lead to misaligned or crowded teeth because the dental arch is underdeveloped and does not have enough space for all the teeth to fit naturally.”
It is estimated that more than 70 percent of the calories consumed by children and adolescents in the United States come from ultra-processed foods.
This compares to around 30 percent thirty years ago.
A CDC study states that ultra-processed foods are “formulations of macronutrients (starches, sugars, fats, and protein isolates) with few, if any, whole foods and often with flavorings, colors, emulsifiers and other added 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 healthier options such as whole-grain breakfast cereals, whole-wheat bread, canned beans and tofu, which are softer and more flavorful than 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 products are more accessible but 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 only consumed junk food. Experts say an underdeveloped jaw, caused by soft food, can then lead to a range of health problems, including crowded or crooked teeth, narrow airways and even poor posture.
An AI-generated image showing a young girl raised on a balanced diet, left. On the right, the same girl’s face appears rounder after eating ultra-processed foods because her jaw muscles and bones were unable to develop properly.
Research has shown that high consumption 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 from Spain also looked at how these foods may be causing an alarming change in children’s faces.
Spanish scientists who followed dozens of young children found that consuming a diet primarily composed of UPFs, which are typically soft and hyper-palatable, impacted jaw development.
Dr Laura Marques Martinez, expert in pediatric dentistry at the Catholic University of Valencia and co-author of the study, said: “Chewing plays a crucial role in the proper development of the jaws as it stimulates bone growth, strengthens facial muscles and promotes good jaw development. dental alignment.
“Chewing solid, fibrous foods, such as fruits, vegetables or natural proteins, exercises the jaw, helping to prevent problems such as malocclusion (poor alignment of the teeth) and deficiencies in the size and shape of the teeth. dental arches.
“In contrast, diets based on ultra-processed foods that are soft and require minimal effort to chew have a negative impact on jaw development.”
“These foods, by not properly stimulating the maxillofacial muscles and bones, can lead to underdevelopment of bone structures and increase the risk of malocclusion and respiratory problems.”
To help prevent an underdeveloped jaw, experts advise adding harder foods to your diet, including raw vegetables, nuts and hard fruits.
Chewing harder foods will help build jaw muscles and promote proper jaw alignment.
At the same time, they suggest reducing consumption of soft, processed foods that don’t require a lot of chewing.
