Home Australia REVEALED: Photos show how ultra-processed foods can change your face

REVEALED: Photos show how ultra-processed foods can change your face

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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 eating a balanced diet, while on the left, an image shows the same child if he only consumed ultra-processed foods. Some of the negative facial impacts include an underdeveloped jaw, overcrowded teeth, and more sunken eyes.

His cheeks are plumper, his eyes slightly sunken, and his teeth overcrowded.

These are the faces of children who have been raised on ultra-processed foods, which health experts warn can irreversibly change the shape of their faces.

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, like hamburgers, French fries, and processed meats, are too soft for your mouth.

If these foods are eaten repeatedly and from a young age, the jaw muscles will not develop properly and this will affect the way the jaw bones grow.

An underdeveloped jaw can lead to a host of health problems, including crowded or crooked teeth, narrow airways, and even poor posture.

In DailyMail.com’s AI-generated images, you can see the changes in the children’s faces after we entered Dr. Miraglia’s descriptions into the system.

As children get older, these features will worsen with the expensive cosmetic dentistry needed to fix crowded teeth. A poor diet can also cause 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 eating a balanced diet, while on the left, an image shows the same child if he only consumed 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 harder, fibrous foods that required significant chewing effort, which “which helped stimulate and strengthen the jaw muscles and promote proper growth.” .

‘In contrast, modern diets are often dominated by processed, bland foods that require little chewing.

«Lack of chewing reduces the mechanical stimulus necessary for jaw expansion and development, resulting in 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 together 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 three decades ago.

A CDC study states that ultra-processed foods are “formulations of macronutrients (starches, sugars, fats, and protein isolates) with little or no whole foods and often with added flavors, colors, emulsifiers, and other cosmetic additives.”

Examples of ultra-processed foods 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 whole-grain breakfast cereals, whole-grain bread, canned beans, and tofu, which are softer and tastier 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 products are more accessible, but is increasing in low- and middle-income countries.

On the left, an AI-generated image shows a child eating a balanced diet, while on the left, an image shows the same child if he only ate junk food. Experts say that an underdeveloped jaw, caused by soft food, can lead to a host of health problems, including crowded or crooked teeth, narrow airways and even poor posture.

On the left, an AI-generated image shows a child eating a balanced diet, while on the left, an image shows the same child if he only ate junk food. Experts say that an underdeveloped jaw, caused by soft food, can lead to a host of health problems, including crowded or crooked teeth, narrow airways and even poor posture.

On the left, an AI-generated image showing a girl raised on a balanced diet. On the right, the same girl's face appears rounder after living on ultra-processed foods, since the muscles and bones of her jaw have not been able to develop properly.

On the left, an AI-generated image showing a girl raised on a balanced diet. On the right, the same girl’s face appears rounder after living on ultra-processed foods, since the muscles and bones of her jaw have not been able to develop properly.

Research has shown that high consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with a variety of health problems including obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

A recent study carried out in Spain also analyzed how these foods may be behind an alarming change in children’s faces.

Spanish scientists who tracked dozens of young children found that consuming a diet composed primarily of UPFs, which are generally bland and hyperpalatable, affected jaw development.

Dr. Laura Marqués Martínez, 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 proper dental alignment.

‘Chewing solid and fibrous foods, such as fruits, vegetables or natural proteins, exercises the jaw, helping to prevent problems such as malocclusion (misalignment of the teeth) and deficiencies in the size and shape of the 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 not adequately stimulating the maxillofacial muscles and bones, can cause underdeveloped bone structures and increase the risk of malocclusion and respiratory problems.”

To help prevent an underdeveloped jaw, experts recommend adding harder foods to your diet, such as raw vegetables, nuts, and hard fruits.

Chewing harder foods will help develop jaw muscles and promote proper jaw alignment.

At the same time, they suggest reducing your intake of soft, processed foods that don’t require a lot of chewing.

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