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TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - While the schools are closed for the annual summer break, the kids are bound to be stuck at the house surrounded by treats and snacks.

With more opportunities with the kids, Pediatrician Dr. Danny Price of Bethesda Pediatrics explains that the summer break can allow some flexibility for parents when it comes to their kids’ diet.

“Summertime brings positives and negatives when it comes to children’s diets,” Price said. “Positives is parents are going to feel a little more in control of their child’s diet.

However, with the kids at the house with empty schedules and sometimes inconsistent mealtimes, excessive snacking is a concern for pediatricians.

“The difficulty is going to be that boredom and that snacking that’s wanting to occur all day,” Price said.

Price warns parents over the potential health risks that come with excessive intake of ultra processed foods that continue to pop up on the store shelves.

‘Recent studies said as much as 58% of the American diet is ultra processed which seems pretty alarming,” Price said. “We first think of Takis and donuts as junk food but really anything that is not recognizable as something that came from a tree plant or animal it might be ultra processed.”

According to a study published in the BMJ, experts were concerned over the potential for illnesses linked to the brain, heart and even issues with anxiety and depression. Price suggests the excessive snacking could lead to other health issues.

“Some of the concerns that as food is more processed its just that the sugar is more easily accessible its more broken down, it causes our blood sugar and insulin levels to spike more quickly.”

Meantime, the treats can also cause some problems for growing teeth. Pediatric Dentist Dr. Kent Boozer says in the summertime most of the damage is caused by sugary drinks.

“A lot of the damage we see is drinks so you need to be really careful so everybody gets hot and thirsty go to water,” Boozer said. “As far as the other snacks its the bready kind of snacks that stick around for a long time.”

Some of the signs to look out for from overuse of these drinks are mainly staining from the teeth and tooth pain. After eating or drinking these snacks or drinks, Boozer recommends brushing to clean out the mouth for any potential residue. This is also something kids tend to forget from their daily hygiene routine.

“In the summer you kind of lose the routine and then you kind of get out of your habits and that could be a problem because then you’ll see show up in the fall,” Boozer said.