Children given too much processed sugary food are not only likely to be malnourished or overweight in the short term, but to also suffer neurological changes that leave them struggling to shake off a junk food habit later in life.
Excessive exposure to “readily accessible” high-fat and nutrient-poor food can lead to “long- lasting changes in how the brain regulates eating, even when the unhealthy diet is stopped”, says a team of scientists led by researchers at University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland.
“Exposure to unhealthy diets, such as a high-fat diet or Western diets, during early life has been shown to have effects on offspring’s appetite regulation,” the researchers warned in a paper published in the journal Nature Communications in late February (2026).
Giving kids snacks and junk food could lead to ”lasting disruptions in the adult hypothalamus, a key brain region involved in appetite control and energy balance”, according to the team, which included representatives of the University of Seville in Spain, the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and Ireland’s Agriculture and Food Development Authority.
“From birthday parties and school celebrations to sporting events, and even as rewards for good behaviour, these foods have become a routine part of childhood experiences,” they said.
“Our findings show that what we eat early in life really matters,” said study first author and UCC postdoctoral researcher Dr Cristina Cuesta-Martí.
She warned that babies and kids who eat unhealthy could face “hidden, long-term effects on feeding behaviour that are not immediately visible through weight alone.”
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But the researchers showed that fruit and vegetables such as onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus and bananas carry several types of gut bacteria that could help counter or prevent the effects of early life exposure to the sickly-sweet or additive-laden fatty slop that can rewire the brain into poor lifelong eating.
“Crucially, our findings show that targeting the gut microbiota can mitigate the long-term effects of an unhealthy early-life diet on later feeding behaviour,” said study lead investigator and UCC senior lecturer Dr Harriet Schellekens.
Other recent research has suggested that children should eat more seafood and nuts, and that overdosing infants with antibiotics can leave them vulnerable to allergies later in life. – dpa
