Federal Nutrition Assistance Programs and UltraProcessed Food Intake among Preschool-Aged Children

Among children in the United States, ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) account for ∼67% of daily calories, reflecting a low-quality diet. Among low-income preschool-aged children whose families participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), UPF consumption patterns have been understudied.

This study evaluated the association between SNAP and/or WIC enrollment and child UPF consumption and characterized the relationship between SNAP and WIC participation, food insecurity, and UPF intake among low-income, preschool-aged children.

We conducted a secondary cohort analysis of an RCT for childhood obesity prevention that enrolled 610 predominantly Latino parent-child pairs from low-income families. The exposure was baseline participation in SNAP only, WIC only, both, or neither. The outcome was percentage of child caloric intake from UPFs. A linear mixed-effects model assessed the relationship between baseline assistance program participation and UPF intake over time, adjusting for sociodemographic covariates.

Among 582 eligible participants, median child age at baseline was 4.3 y (Q1, 3.6 y; Q3, 5.0 y); 91.4% (n = 532) of parents identified as Latino, 55.8% (n = 325) had household income <$25,000/y, and 42.8% (n = 249) had food insecurity. Approximately 21% (n = 124) of families used SNAP only, 12% (n = 68) of families used WIC only, and 54% (n = 316) used both. Median caloric intake of UPFs was 62.5% (Q1, 53.1%; Q3, 71.0%) at baseline. Neither assistance program use nor the interaction between assistance program use and household food insecurity was statistically significantly related to UPF intake.

Among predominantly Latino preschoolers from low-income families, UPF intake is high (>60% of calories). The percentage of caloric intake from UPFs does not significantly differ by SNAP and/or WIC participation, regardless of food insecurity status.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01316653.