He high consumption of ultra-processed foods among the child population is emerging as a worrying factor in the increase in cases of kidney stonesa pathology better known as “stones or stones” in the kidneys.
The pediatrician Katherine Peña He explained that in his consultation at the Hispanic Medical Center he has treated patients between six and ten years old who are receiving this diagnosis, increased by the frequent consumption of ultra-processed foods with high contents of sugar, salt, saturated fats and additives.
“Lately it has been seen with more frequencyat least in my practice“, confessed the specialist.
Peña explained that, contrary to the popular belief that only soda soft drinks contribute to the formation of stones, all food and drink rich in salt can affect the health of the kidneys.
Medical literature indicates that diets with high levels of sodium, sugars and additives affect the urine composition and can lead to mineral imbalances such as calcium and oxalatetwo of the main components of kidney stones.
“A high-salt dietin ultra-processedit will predispose you to a very high percentage of kidney stones. Soft drinks, yes, obviously, but it is not the essential thing. How many chips does a child consume? If you look for the nutritional guide for those chips, you are literally giving that child an extremely high load of sodium and predisposing him to having stones in his teeth. kidneys“explained the doctor.
Another very important reason that Peña mentioned is the little water intake, without additive, flavors or colorings.
“Some children they do not hydrate properly, then that predisposes to more concentrated urine and the stone can form more easily,” he said.
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“The child does not need what he has never had. Who introduced him to soda? The child is going to consume what you offer him,” he emphasized.
Likewise, the speed of the lifestyle, where mothers no longer have the same amount of time to prepare food at home.
“Unfortunately, mothers go out to work. We don’t always have the facility to prepare food like perhaps we did, when we were little and our mother made us breakfast,” he commented.
In the same way, the lithiasis can be formed in kidneys of patients born with congenital malformations or who are undergoing steroid treatment.
Adult illness?
Peña acknowledged that parents are usually surprised when they find out about the diagnosis because they associate the formation of kidney stones to pathologies of adults.
“One tends to understand that it is a pathology of older people. Obviously they are surprised, you explain it to them and try to make the changes,” he responded about how parents react.
chance find
Dr. Peña clarified that the diagnosis of lithiasis It is usually a chance findsince the children They do not usually present direct symptoms.
“Generally in the children It is usually a chance find. The child does not give you symptoms. Simply for another reason, a sonography is done and we have the diagnosis. Depending on the size of the stone and the location, it can cause pain in the back area, it can cause intestinal manifestations such as vomiting, dizziness, feeling of fainting, but when we get there, it is because the stone is very large and is obstructing, but, generally, it is a chance find“He has no symptoms,” he added.
The diagnosis can be one-sided, although stones are usually found bilaterally.
Regarding treatment, the pediatrician said that a multidisciplinary action plan can be sought with a specialist nephrologist or gastroenterologist, introducing changes in diet and surgery as a last resort.
