convenience food

And that, in a country where parents are increasingly turning from traditional diets to convenience foods, has health professionals worried.

In descending order of proportion, snacks consisted of convenience foods high in carbohydrates and fats, sweets, alcoholic beverages, non-alcoholic drinks that include sugar-sweetened beverages, protein, milk and dairy, fruits, grains and, lagging far behind, vegetables.

"Elsewhere, trends such as wealthier, more mobile middle classes in emerging countries can support shifts towards snacking and convenience foods."

The concept normalizes “that we can eat a variety of foods, we can eat pre-cooked foods, we can eat convenience foods.”

Ultra-processed convenience foods contain chemicals that UK regulators say are safe, but Panorama investigates emerging scientific evidence of a link between some of these chemicals and cancer, diabetes and strokes.