Can food additives in snacks and drinks make preschoolers gain weight?

What's actually in it

Processed snacks, flavored drinks, and packaged meals aimed at kids contain artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, and emulsifiers. These food additives help extend shelf life and make products look and taste more appealing. Young children eat a lot of these foods, which means they're getting steady doses of these chemicals every day.

What the research says

A 2026 study in Pediatr Obes measured food additive exposure in Chilean preschoolers and compared it to their body fat levels. The researchers found that children with higher exposure to food additives had more body fat, even after accounting for how much food they ate overall.

Kids who ate more ultra-processed foods with multiple additives were most affected. The additives may disrupt hormones that control appetite and fat storage, or they may change gut bacteria in ways that promote weight gain.

To keep additive levels low, offer whole fruits, vegetables, and home-cooked meals instead of packaged snacks. Read labels and skip products with long ingredient lists full of numbers and names you don't recognize.