Ultra-processed food consumption in Argentina according to income level and its association with the intake of healthy foods.

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are associated with unhealthy diets and chronic diseases. Hence, knowing the consumption pattern of UPFs in the general population is crucial to design policies to improve public health, such as the recently approved law for the Promotion of Healthy Eating in Argentina (Law N° 27.642). The aim of the study was to characterise the consumption of UPFs according to income level and to assess their association with the intake of healthy foods in the Argentinian population. Healthy foods were defined in this study as those non-UPF groups that have been shown to reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases and excluded certain natural or minimally processed foods such as red meat, poultry and eggs. We retrieved data from the 2018-2019 National Nutrition and Health Survey (ENNyS 2), a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey performed in Argentina, including 15 595 inhabitants. We classified the 1040 food items recorded by the degree of processing using the NOVA system. UPFs represented nearly 26% of daily energy. The intake of UPFs increased with income, with a difference of up to 5 percentage points between the lowest (24%) and the highest (29%) income levels (p < 0.001). Cookies, industrial pastries, cakes and sugar-sweetened beverages were the most consumed UPF items, accounting for 10% of daily energy intake. We found that UPF intake was associated with a decrease in consumption of healthy food groups, mainly fruits and vegetables, where a difference of -28.3 g/2000 kcal and -62.3 g/2000 kcal between tertile 1 and tertile 3 was estimated, respectively. Therefore, Argentina still maintains a UPF consumption pattern of a low- and middle-income country, where UPF intake increases with income, but these foods also compete with the intake of healthy foods.

Zapata ME ，Arrieta E ，Beltramo B ，Rovirosa A ... -  《-》

Ultra-processed foods consumption and diet quality among preschool children and women of reproductive age from Argentina.

Zapata ME ，Cediel G ，Arrieta E ，Rovirosa A ，Carmuega E ，Monteiro CA ... -  《-》

Ultra-processed food consumption in Barbados: evidence from a nationally representative, cross-sectional study.

Our objective was to describe, for the first time in an English-speaking Caribbean country, the contribution of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) to nutrients linked to non-communicable disease. Using a cross-sectional study design, dietary data were collected from two non-consecutive 24-h dietary recalls. Recorded food items were then classified according to their degree of processing by the NOVA system. The present study took place in Barbados (2012-13). A representative population-based sample of 364 adult Barbadians (161 males and 203 females) aged 25-64 years participated in the study. UPFs represented 40⋅5 % (838 kcal/d; 95 % CI 791, 885) of mean energy intake. Sugar-sweetened beverages made the largest contribution to energy within the UPF category. Younger persons (25-44 years) consumed a significantly higher proportion of calories from UPF (NOVA group 4) compared with older persons (45-64 years). The mean energy shares of UPF ranged from 22⋅0 to 58⋅9 % for those in the lowest tertile to highest tertile. Within each tertile, the energy contribution was significantly higher in the younger age group (25-44 years) compared with the older (45-64 years). One-quarter of persons consume ≥50 % of their daily calories from UPF, this being significantly higher in younger persons. The ultra-processed diet fraction contained about six times the mean of free sugars and about 0⋅8 times the dietary fibre of the non-ultra-processed fraction (NOVA groups 1-3). Targeted interventions to decrease the consumption of UPF especially in younger persons is thus of high priority to improve the diet quality of Barbadians.

Harris RM ，Rose AMC ，Soares-Wynter S ，Unwin N ... -  《-》

Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Relation with Diet Quality and Mediterranean Diet in Southern Italy.

Godos J ，Giampieri F ，Al-Qahtani WH ，Scazzina F ，Bonaccio M ，Grosso G ... -  《-》

Description of Ultra-Processed Food Intake in a Swiss Population-Based Sample of Adults Aged 18 to 75 Years.

Bertoni Maluf VA ，Bucher Della Torre S ，Jotterand Chaparro C ，Belle FN ，Khalatbari-Soltani S ，Kruseman M ，Marques-Vidal P ，Chatelan A ... -  《-》