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

Background: 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. Objectives: 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. Methods: 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. Results: 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. Conclusions: 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.