Experts warn against trend of soft 'pre-chewed meals'

In recent years there has been a growing preference for soft, tender and melt-in-the-mouth foods. Foods like smoothies or milky buns, for example. While an argument around better taste can certainly be made in some cases, health experts point out an underlying issue in abandoning tougher, jaw-exercising foods.

Our colleagues from RTL Infos recently discussed the issue with a speech therapist, who in fact labelled the trend "a disservice to children."

The 'McDonald's generation'

"I call it the 'McDonalds' generation,' because everything they eat is soft," sums up Rachel Latessa, a speech therapist based in Dudelange.

Latessa, a specialist in language and swallowing disorders, expresses particular concern about the eating habits of younger generations: "In a consultation, my first question is often about what the children eat. For example, recently, a child told me he'd just eaten an apple. […] I asked him if he'd bitten into it and he replied 'no, daddy cuts me little bites,' even though this child was definitely old enough to bite into his apple like a grown-up."

At any age, you need to keep your teeth active with solid foods. / © Shutterstock

This criticism might seem exaggerated, but it is part of a trend to provide children with easy-to-eat, "pre-chewed" foods. "We make it easier for children to chew. Anything that has to be crunched and chewed for a long time, children don't want to touch," Latessa laments.

The speech therapist acknowledges that it is normal for children to start learning to eat purees and other soft foods at very early ages. However, some parents keep their children overly long in this transitional stage of eating: "I'm thinking in particular of baby food. Companies sell these ready-made meals, telling parents that everything's inside, that it's balanced, that the child won't be able to choke on it, so it's reassuring. Except that generally it's mushy, soft, and on top of that not very tasty."

Because by avoiding anything that requires long chewing – anything hard, rubbery, thick, or stringy – the development of the jaw is impeded, Latessa warns.

Jaw misalignments

Dr Jean-Michel Schoos, an orthodontist based in Echternach, sheds light on the consequences of the prevailing soft-food trend, highlighting a direct link between diet, jaw development, and the emergence of misalignments.

As fast food and processed dishes become increasingly ubiquitous, Schoos notes a simultaneous decline in food consistency, leading to skeletal and dental anomalies in the facial skull. These abnormalities often necessitate intricate orthodontic treatments, creating stress for patients.

The facial skull. / © Par Polygon / Wikipedia

Researchers have been sounding the alarm for decades, according to Schoos: "Intensive research on this subject was already conducted in the 20th century and scientists such as Waugh, in 1937, were able to identify significant developmental differences within the same generation based on diet. Anthropological studies show that increased stress on the mastication system after birth leads to changes in the base of the jaw, creating more space for teeth."

Visits to an orthodontist are becoming the norm for children. Food is no stranger to this phenomenon. / © Pixabay

In other words, eating more solid foods can help prevent skeletal and dental abnormalities, affecting the entire mastication system. Besides natural tooth wear, morphological changes in the facial skeleton and muscle hypertrophy are observed.

Schoos also cites contemporary studies conducted in the 21st century, all supporting the notion that solid foods positively impact jaw development compared to soft foods. For example, a 2006 study looked at the influence of solid and soft foods on jaw development in children. "The results showed that children who ate mainly soft foods had poorer jaw development than those who ate solid foods," Schoos explains.

Nevertheless, Schoos emphasises that jaw development is influenced by various factors, not solely the type of food chewed. Genetics, environmental factors, and individual differences also play crucial roles in shaping jaw health.

With children being particularly susceptible to the risks associated with soft diets, the question arises: what should parents feed their children? Additionally, how does an excessively soft diet impact the health of adults? A nutritionist provides further insights.

The importance of gradual food introduction and slow eating for health

Pascal Nottinger, a nutritionist and dietician based in Luxembourg City, stresses the importance of a gradual approach to introducing varied food textures to children: "If you swallow a nutritional slurry, yes, you're going to survive. But for a child, it's very important to go through the different phases of development, and therefore through the discovery phase of chunks. They need to get used to chewing by having small, easy-to-ingest pieces."

According to Nottinger, children benefit from learning to chew by gradually transitioning from purees to small, easy-to-ingest pieces and eventually larger pieces, aligning with their age and developmental stage: "If you give a 1-year-old a piece of chicken, they're not going to take a knife and fork to cut it up, so you have to blend it or cut it into very small pieces." Similarly, "if you give them a whole piece of fruit, they're not going to eat it, they're going to discover it, they're going to learn to tame it, and chew it."

Food diversification is essential for children, and involves the gradual introduction of solid foods. / © Shutterstock

And while children are often told "not to play at the table," it is sometimes advisable to do so on the plate. Nottinger encourages incorporating playful elements into mealtime, such as catching food with a fork or engaging in alphabet pasta games. He stresses that mealtime should be a relaxed and enjoyable period for communication, free from distractions: "It's a time when you should be sitting down, relaxed, calm, without TV or screens… We're eating, we're talking to each other, we're communicating, and we're looking after what's on our plate," Nottinger explains.

In a society where everything moves at a faster pace, Nottinger underscores the urgency of taking the time to eat. Chewing, he explains, establishes a balance between the digestive system and food intake. Properly ground food aids in the identification phase, allowing the tongue and brain to analyse the nutritional composition. This, according to Nottinger, is crucial because the brain directs tastes based on the body's nutritional needs.

Nottinger advocates for slow eating, asserting that it enhances the development of food flavours and contributes to the enjoyment of taste – an aspect often compromised by soft, industrial foods laden with salt, sugar, and artificial flavourings.

Eating slowly will also allow the brain to better inform us when it is time to stop eating: "Chewing serves as the initial phase of a meal, enabling the brain to transmit a satiety message after a crucial 20 minutes." By eating slowly, people provide their brains with the necessary time to analyse the food being consumed, leading to better digestion and a reduction in the overall volume of food intake.

In addition to promoting satiety and aiding digestion, Nottinger highlights a compelling finding from a study involving 60,000 participants: slow eaters were significantly leaner than their fast-eating counterparts.

Finally, it is worth noting that many dentists caution against the consumption of soft, sugary foods. Such items tend to "stick" more to teeth, fostering the development of cavities and tartar.