REducing ultra processed foods to improve Children and young peoples’ Health -The REaCH project

Teenagers and young people in Southampton will co-design campaigns and health interventions to cut down on ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in schools and clinics. This matters because UPFs—industrially formulated products high in sugar, fat, and additives—now make up a large share of children’s diets in the UK, yet there is little evidence on how to reduce them in ways that young people themselves find acceptable and practical. Most existing strategies are designed by adults and fail to engage the target group. The REaCH project fills that gap by putting a youth panel at the centre of the work, ensuring solutions reflect real-world eating habits, social pressures, and preferences. If successful, the project will produce two concrete outputs: an awareness campaign co-designed by young people, and a school- and healthcare-based intervention to help children and young people eat fewer UPFs. A parallel strand, working with the PEEER youth group, will adapt these materials for young people living with long-term conditions, who may face additional dietary challenges. The approach could shift how public health teams and the NHS design nutrition programmes—moving from top-down advice to peer-led, context-aware strategies that are more likely to stick.