(KERO) — Kids with a diet too high in fat and sugar could ruin their gut health as adults.

Researchers at UC Riverside found that mice that ate a high-fat diet as juveniles had less diverse gut bacteria as adults.

Diversity of gut bacteria contributes to a healthy immune system and helps break down food.

Researchers say high fat and high sugar diets in kids make more of an impact on their long-term health than exercise.

They hope to continue their testing to see when changes in the gut bacteria start to develop.