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Maybe the “Z” in Gen Z will eventually stand for “Zepbound.”
It’s no surprise that Gen Zers love their nuggs and glizzies — research suggests that about 62% of their calories come from ultra-processed foods (UPFs).
A new study out of Virginia Tech warns that this is a recipe for disaster, especially for the Gen Zers who tend to overeat when junk food is on the menu.
“Although this was [a] short-term trial, if this increase in caloric intake persists over time, this could lead to weight gain in these young people,” said senior author Brenda Davy, a professor in Virginia Tech’s Department of Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise.
Twenty-seven men and women, 18 to 25 years old, were fed one of two diets for the study.
In the first eating plan, 81% of calories came from UPFs. The other diet was junk-free.
Participants were given enough calories to maintain their weight.
“We very rigorously designed these diets to be matched on 22 characteristics, including macronutrients, fiber, added sugar, energy density and also many vitamins and minerals,” Davy said. “Previous studies had not matched diets to this extent.”
The volunteers ate one diet for two weeks, resumed their regular routine for four weeks, then switched to the other diet.
After completing each new eating plan, the Gen Zers were given 30 minutes of free rein at a breakfast buffet that featured healthy food and UPFs.
Each participant fasted beforehand and could gobble as much — or as little — as they wanted of a food tray worth about 1,800 calories.
The researchers noticed something interesting when they tracked buffet intake by age.
The 18- to 21-year-olds consumed more calories after eating the junk food diet for two weeks — and they were more likely to gorge when they weren’t hungry.
The 22- to 25-year-olds were less gluttonous.
The younger the participants were at the start of the study, the more buffet treats they devoured after being on the junk food diet, said Alex DiFeliceantonio, an assistant professor in Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute.
“This points to younger age as potentially a risk factor for increased calorie intake after UPF exposure,” DiFeliceantonio told The Post.
“This is a period generally characterized by behaviors influenced by more ‘bottom-up’ motivational systems, but more study is needed to understand exactly why younger people seemed to eat more after consuming a high UPF diet.”
The findings were published on Wednesday in the journal Obesity.
DiFeliceantonio said that since the participants’ weights were stable, meaning that they didn’t require more calories for energy, “we can see the effect of processing alone.”
UPFs have been linked to 32 negative health outcomes, including higher risks of heart disease, cancer, Type 2 diabetes, mental health struggles and even early death.
The new research comes as experts predict that 1 in 3 Americans aged 15 to 24 will meet the criteria for obesity by 2050 unless drastic measures are taken.
The Virginia Tech team plans to continue to explore junk food habits with a larger study population, younger participants, more time spent on the diets and greater access to UPFs to mimic real-world situations.
