Consumption of ultra-processed foods and their impact on the diet of young adults

Bielemann, Renata M; Motta, Janaína V Santos; Minten, Gicele C; Horta, Bernardo L; Gigante, Denise P

doi:10.1590/S0034-8910.2015049005572

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Original Articles • Rev. Saúde Pública 49 • 2015 • https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-8910.2015049005572 copy

Consumption of ultra-processed foods and their impact on the diet of young adults

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the consumption of ultra-processed foods, its associated factors, and its influence on nutrient intake in young adults.

METHODS

In 2004-2005, the individuals belonging to the Pelotas birth cohort of 1982 were identified for a home interview. A total of 4,297 individuals were interviewed and 4,202 individuals were included in the study (follow-up rate of 77.4%). Diet was assessed using a questionnaire on dietary intake and the percentage of daily caloric intake attributed to ultra-processed foods as well as the intake of macro- and micronutrients were estimated. The association between cohort characteristics and the consumption of ultra-processed foods was assessed using linear regression. Analysis of variance and Pearson’s Chi-square test were used to evaluate the association between the quintiles of the consumption of ultra-processed food, nutrient intake and adequacy of nutrient intake, respectively.

RESULTS

The consumption of ultra-processed foods corresponded to 51.2% of the total caloric intake. The consumption of ultra-processed foods was higher among women, individuals with higher education, and individuals who were never poor and eutrophic. The increased consumption of ultra-processed foods was positively correlated with the consumption of fat, cholesterol, sodium, iron, calcium, and calories (p < 0.001) and was negatively correlated with the consumption of carbohydrates, protein, and dietary fiber (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The high consumption of ultra-processed foods and its positive correlation with the intake of sodium, cholesterol, and fats underscores the need to perform interventions aimed at decreasing the intake of this food group.

Young Adult; Food Consumption; Industrialized Foods; Prepared Foods; Fast Foods; Socioeconomic Factors; Cohort Studies

Variable	n	%
Sex
Masculine	2,161	51.4
Feminine	2,041	48.6
Marital status
Single/Divorced/Widowed	2,580	61.4
Married/With partner	1,622	38.6
Education (years)
≤ 4	341	8.1
5 to 8	1,154	27.5
9 to 11	2,043	48.6
≥ 12	664	15.8
Income change (1982 → 2004-2005)
Always poor	683	16.3
Not poor → Poor	698	16.6
Poor → Not poor	644	15.3
Never poor	2,177	51.8
BMI (kg/m²2 Azevedo MR, Horta BL, Gigante DP, Victora CG, Barros FC. Fatores associados ao sedentarismo no lazer de adultos na coorte de nascimentos de 1982, Pelotas, RS. Rev Saude Publica. 2008;42(Supl 2):70-7. DOI:10.1590/S0034-89102008000900010)
< 24.9	2,969	70.8
25.0-29.9	872	20.8
≥ 30.0	353	8.4

Food	Kcal/person/day		Total calories intake from the consumption of ultra-processed foods*

			Entire cohort		Men		Women

	Average	SE	%	95%CI	%	95%CI	%	95%CI
Ultra-processed foods	1,872.3	16.9	51.2	50.8;51.6	50.4	49.9;51.0	51.9	51.4;52.5
Sweets	563.1	9.2	14.9	14.5;15.2	13.0	12.6;13.4	16.8	16.3;17.3
Bread	506.8	6.9	14.1	13.8;14.4	15.1	14.7;15.5	13.0	12.6;13.4
Snacks and fried foods	385.5	5.8	10.6	10.3;10.8	10.8	10.4;11.1	10.4	10.0;10.7
Cookies	200.0	4.1	5.4	5.2;5.6	5.0	4.8;5.3	5.8	5.6;6.1
Soft drinks	107.5	2.3	3.1	3.0;3.2	3.4	3.2;3.5	2.8	2.6;3.0
Cheese	42.3	1.0	1.3	1.2;1.3	1.3	1.2;1.3	1.3	1.2;1.4
Yogurt	22.8	0.7	0.7	0.6;0.7	0.6	0.5;0.6	0.8	0.7;0.8
Processed meat	28.5	0.9	0.8	0.7;0.8	0.9	0.8;0.9	0.7	0.6;0.7
Mayonnaise	14.9	0.6	0.4	0.4;0.5	0.5	0.4;0.5	0.4	0.4;0.4
All foods	3,757.9	32.9	100		100		100

Variable	Consumption of ultra-processed foods (% kcal/day)^a

	Crude analysis		Adjusted analysis

	%	p	β	95%CI
Sex		< 0.001
Masculine	50.4		Ref.
Feminine	51.9		1.4	0.6;2.2
Marital status		0.001^b
Single/Divorced/Widowed	51.8		Ref.
Married/With partner	50.1		-0.3	-1.1;0.6
Education (years)		< 0.001^c
≤ 4	46.1		Ref.
5 to 8	49.4		2.1	0.4;3.7
9 to 11	51.9		3.3	1.7;4.9
≥ 12	54.5		4.8	2.9;6.7
Income change (1982 → 2004-2005)		< 0.001^d
Always poor	46.4		Ref.
Not poor → Poor	50.7		3.7	2.3;5.1
Poor → Not poor	49.7		2.7	1.3;4.2
Never poor	53.2		5.3	4.0;6.6
BMI (kg/m²)		0.003^c
< 24.9	51.6		Ref.
25.0-29.9	50.5		-1.0	-1.9;0.0
≥ 30.0	49.3		-1.9	-3.4;-0.5

Nutrient	Contribution of each quintile of the consumption of ultra-processed foods to daily energy consumption^a

	1		2		3		4		5		p

	Average	SE	Average	SE	Average	SE	Average	SE	Average	SE
% of energy from
Proteins	14.9	0.2	14.3	0.1	13.5	0.1	13.0	0.1	11.7	0.1	< 0.001^b
Carbohydrates	65.6	0.3	62.2	0.3	60.2	0.2	57.7	0.3	54.7	0.3	< 0.001^b
Total fat	19.5	0.2	23.5	0.2	26.3	0.2	29.3	0.2	33.6	0.3	< 0.001^b
Saturated fats	6.0	0.1	7.0	0.1	7.5	0.1	7.9	0.1	8.2	0.1	< 0.001^c
Trans fats	0.2	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.4	0.0	< 0.001^c
Cholesterol (mg)	340.0	10.4	338.9	7.6	340.0	7.1	356.6	7.2	355.6	6.5	< 0.001^c
Dietary fiber (g)	53.9	1.1	49.5	1.1	45.6	0.9	40.7	0.8	38.7	0.7	< 0.001^b
Sodium (mg)	1802.2	47.0	2303.3	45.7	2508.3	46.5	2806.9	51.3	3213.9	59.0	< 0.001^b
Iron (mg)	22.9	0.8	27.3	0.9	29.4	0.9	29.7	0.9	36.6	1.6	< 0.001^b
Calcium (mg)	425.8	7.7	509.6	8.9	550.8	9.2	612.3	10.5	693.7	13.0	< 0.001^b
Total energy (kcal)^a	3049.8	47.8	3359.5	51.5	3487.7	50.3	3703.1	55.6	4192.0	60.4	< 0.001^b

Percentage of subjects with adequate intake of nutrients	Contribution of each quintile of the consumption of ultra-processed foods to the daily energy consumption^a

	1		2		3		4		5		p

	%	SE	%	SE	%	SE	%	SE	%	SE
Percentage of energy from
Proteins (10.0%-15.0%)	50.8	1.7	59.2	1.7	64.4	1.7	67.7	1.6	62.6	1.7	< 0.001^b
Carbohydrates (55.0%-75.0%)	77.3	1.4	81.9	1.3	75.0	1.5	64.3	1.7	47.4	1.7	< 0.001^b
Total fat (15.0%-30.0%)	75.5	1.5	82.5	1.3	71.7	1.6	54.6	1.7	33.8	1.6	< 0.001^b
Saturated fats (< 10.0%)	93.8	0.8	90.5	1.0	88.5	1.1	83.1	1.3	78.0	1.4	< 0.001^c
Trans fats (< 1.0%)	99.2	0.3	98.9	0.4	97.0	0.6	97.1	0.6	92.3	0.9	< 0.001^b
Cholesterol (≤ 300 mg)	60.0	1.7	53.1	1.7	52.6	1.7	48.2	1.7	45.1	1.7	< 0.001^c
Dietary fiber (≥ 25 g)	85.5	1.2	81.4	1.3	80.2	1.4	74.3	1.5	73.3	1.5	< 0.001^c
Sodium (≤ 2,000 mg/day)	70.3	1.6	50.0	1.7	43.0	1.7	34.0	1.6	21.5	1.4	< 0.001^c
Iron (women: ≥ 18 mg/day; men: ≥ 8 mg/day)	72.2	1.5	76.4	1.5	77.6	1.4	76.9	1.5	82.9	1.3	< 0.001^b
Calcium (≥ 1,000 mg/day)	3.0	0.5	4.8	0.7	6.1	0.8	10.2	1.0	16.4	1.3	< 0.001^c

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[1] Correspondence
: Renata Moraes Bielemann. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Epidemiologia. Rua Marechal Deodoro, 1160 3º andar. 96020-220 Pelotas, RS, Brasil. E-mail: renatabielemann@hotmail.com