Experts repeatedly warn about the effects on our health of consuming hyper-processed foods. However, there is now evidence that they can also affect the way our body develops, especially our jaw.

Does diet affect jaw development?

According to the Guardian, studies based on skull measurements of individuals from different populations have revealed that jaw shape is related to diet.

It has been found that populations based on agriculture have a different shape, usually smaller, than those they hunt their prey.

This has been identified in populations that lived through the transition to agriculture and in those that lived at a similar time but had a different diet. In the latter case, experts found that the children’s jaws were similar but then changed when they were of chewing age.

The researchers even found differences in the size and shape of the jaws of people who lived before and after industrialization, a time when people began to rely more on processed foods.

While teeth have also gotten smaller over time, experts say jaw size has also decreased to a greater extent.

Scientists say this could explain why many people today have dental overgrowth or crooked teeth.

“We can actually see the disproportionality accelerating as we move to an industrialized diet”says Dr Caroline Rado, associate professor of bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology at UCL.

A smaller jaw has also been linked to changes in the way we speak, helping people form letter sounds “f” and “v”, however, this association is still being investigated.

However, one theory is that eating hard, chewy foods such as raw vegetables and meat requires more strength, and animal research has found that more intense chewing stimulates jaw growth.

What’s the connection with ultra-processed foods?

Ultra-processed foods are often too soft with experts warning that this could contribute to the development of a smaller jaw from childhood.

In a pilot study published last year by a team in Spain, researchers studied the diets of 25 children aged 3 to 5 and analyzed the data along with measurements of their teeth and skulls.

Among the results, the team found that children whose diet consisted mainly of liquid and/or semi-solid foods had smaller gaps between their lower teeth than those who had a mainly solid diet. These gaps are filled when the adult teeth come out.

However, the study was small and did not look at whether the foods were over-processed, did not follow the children to examine the arrangement of their permanent teeth, and cannot prove cause and effect.

Professor Tim Spector, who is known for his work on gut health, told the Telegraph: “The strongest current theory about why the jaw has become smaller is that we feed our children baby food all their lives. So they don’t develop jaw muscles or size and aren’t adapted to chewing.”

“This is another sign of how Western countries like the UK and the US have succumbed to this wave of soft, highly processed foods that are now the main diet of children and many of them have not tried proper, hard foods.”he notes.

What other scientists say

Dr Hayley Landroe, director of external relations for the British Orthodontic Society, said that changes in jaw development through diet could be possible, but this is likely to have happened during several years of development.

“There are not only environmental factors in the development of the skeleton and teeth – genetics also play an important role. Unfortunately, simply eating more foods that require chewing will not override our pre-existing genetic predispositions.” she said herself.

However, he added that limiting consumption of these foods could be beneficial, as they are often high in sugar and could lead to caries.

“We would also tell parents not to worry that their children have to be fed hard foods just to avoid braces, as there is no guarantee that they won’t eventually need them.”

As the expert points out, the debate is intense whether the change in the shape of the jaw is an evolutionary change or just a reaction to an environmental change.

“Obviously, anthropologists and archaeologists can look at long-term changes, while orthodontists only look at what they see in their clinical practice”he said. “Maybe the small size of the teeth is more evolutionary, more genetic, but the small size of the jaw seems to be more related to our environment, which is food.”

Landro points out that she’s not so sure that hyper-processed foods are responsible for the jaw change. “Soft foods are a big deal but they’ve been around for a number of years,” she says herself, pointing out that in In Victorian times people often ate white bread and jam.

What is the TikTok “mewing” trend?

@calgenius How Mewing Works 🤫 #mewing ♬ Funny – Gold-Tiger

The idea that the shape of one’s face can be dramatically changed with a series of exercises has given rise to a slew of videos on social media. It was called “mewing” by controversial British orthodontists Dr John Mew and his son Mike Mew, who came up with this theory.

The British Orthodontic Society clarified how “there is no scientific evidence to suggest that patients can change the shape of their face or improve their intelligence by chewing or holding the teeth and tongue in a closed position or making any other facial movement.”