Ultra-processed food and risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies

Respective contribution of ultra-processing and nutritional quality of foods to the overall diet quality: results from the NutriNet-Santé study

BACKGROUND

Both the nutritional quality of the foods consumed (as nutrient composition) and their ultra-processed nature have been linked to health risks. However, the respective contribution of each of these correlated dimensions or their synergy to the overall diet quality has been rarely explored.

OBJECTIVE

To identify the respective effects of the nutritional quality of the foods consumed, the ultra-processed nature of foods and their cross-effect contributing to the overall quality of the diet.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional observational study.

SETTING

Web-based French NutriNet-Santé cohort study.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants in the NutriNet-Santé cohort study with at least three available 24 h records as baseline dietary data (N = 98 454 participants).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The overall quality of the diet (qualified using the adherence to the 2017 French national nutrition and health dietary recommendations dietary score PNNS-GS2) was broken down into: (1) an effect of the nutritional quality of the foods consumed (qualified using the modified Foods Standards Agency nutrient profile model (underlying the Nutri-Score) dietary index FSAm-NPS DI); (2) an effect of the ultra-processed nature of the foods consumed (qualified using the proportion of ultra-processed foods consumed UPFp using the NOVA classification), and (3) a cross-effect of both dimensions.

RESULTS

The overall effect from the 'nutritional quality of the foods consumed' (FSAm-NPS DI) was 1.10, corresponding to 26% of the total effect; the overall effect from ultra-processed foods consumption was 1.29, corresponding to 30% of the total effect; and cross-effect between nutritional quality of the foods consumed and ultra-processing was at 1.91, corresponding to 44% of total effects.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study provides support to the postulate that nutritional quality and ultra-processing should be considered as two correlated but distinct and complementary dimensions of the diet.

The Association between Unhealthy Food Consumption and Impaired Glucose Metabolism among Adults with Overweight or Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Indonesian Population

BACKGROUND

It has been shown that dietary patterns are associated with glucose control. However, the association between the types of food consumed and blood glucose in overweight or obese individuals is still unclear. The present study aimed to determine the association between unhealthy food consumption and impaired glucose metabolism in adults with overweight or obesity.

METHODS

The analysis presented in this study was based on the data from a population-based, cross-sectional, nationally representative survey (Indonesian Basic Health Research 2018/RISKESDAS 2018). The body mass index (BMI) was calculated as weight (kg)/height squared (m²) and was determined based on the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for the Asian population. A validated questionnaire and food card were used to assess the diet. Fasting plasma glucose and 2-hpost-prandial glucose were employed to determine blood glucose markers.

RESULTS

In total, 8752 adults with overweight or obesity were included in this analysis. We found that consumption of sweet, grilled, and processed foods was associated with impaired fasting plasma glucose (IFG) before and after adjustment (p < 0.05). Consumption of high-fat foods was also associated with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) for all models tested (p < 0.05). Furthermore, all models showed a link between processed food consumption and combined glucose intolerance (CGI) (p ≤ 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Differential food group consumption was associated with IFG, IGT, and CGI in Indonesian adults who were overweight or obese.

Three decades of household food availability according to NOVA - Brazil, 1987-2018

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the trend of household food acquisition according to the NOVA classification in Brazil between 1987-1988 and 2017-2018.

METHODS

We used household food acquisition data from five editions of the Pesquisas de Orçamentos Familiares (Household Budget Surveys), conducted by the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), in the years 1987-1988, 1995-1996, 2002-2003, 2008-2009, and 2017-2018. All reported foods were categorized according to the NOVA classification. The household availability of food groups and subgroups was expressed through their share (%) in total calories, for all Brazilian families, by household situation (urban or rural), for each of the five geographic regions of the country, by fifths of the household income per capita distribution (2002-2003, 2008-2009 and 2017-2018 surveys), and for the 11 main urban regions of the country (1987-1988, 1995-1996, 2002-2003, 2008-2009 and 2017-2018 surveys). Linear regression models were used to assess the trend of increasing or decreasing food purchases.

RESULTS

The diet of the Brazilian population is still composed predominantly of foods in natura or minimally processed and processed culinary ingredients. However, our findings point to trends of increasing share of ultra-processed foods in the diet. This increase of 0.4 percentage points per year between 2002 and 2009 slowed down to 0.2 percentage points between 2008 and 2018. The consumption of ultra-processed food was higher among households with higher income, in the South and Southeast regions, in urban areas, and in metropolitan regions.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicate an increase in the share of ultra-processed foods in the diet of Brazilians. This is a worrisome scenario, since the consumption of such foods is associated with the development of diseases and the loss of nutritional quality of the diet.

Ultra-processed food intake and diet carbon and water footprints: a national study in Brazil

OBJECTIVE

To study the association between ultra-processed food consumption and carbon and water footprints of the Brazilian diet.

METHODS

Cross-sectional analysis on data collected in 2008–2009 on a probabilistic sample of the Brazilian population aged ≥ 10 years (n = 32,886). Individual food intake was assessed using two 24-hour food records, on non-consecutive days. The environmental impact of individual diets was calculated by multiplying the amount of each food by coefficients that quantify the atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases in grams of carbon dioxide equivalent (carbon footprint) and freshwater use in liters (water footprint), both per gram or milliliter of food. The two coefficients consider the food life cycle ‘from farm to fork.’ Crude and adjusted linear regression models and tests for linear trends assessed the association between the ultra-processed food contribution to total energy intake (quintiles) and the diet carbon and water footprints. Potential confounders included age, sex, education, income, and region. Total energy intake was assessed as a potential mediation variable.

RESULTS

In the crude models, the dietary contribution of ultra-processed foods was linearly associated with the carbon and water footprints of the Brazilian diet. After adjustment for potential confounders, the association remained significant only regarding the diet water footprint, which increased by 10.1% between the lowest and highest quintile of the contribution of ultra-processed foods. Additional adjustment for total energy intake eliminated this association indicating that the dietary contribution of ultra-processed foods increases the diet water footprint by increasing energy intake.

CONCLUSIONS

The negative impact of ultra-processed foods on the diet water footprint, shown for the first time in this study, adds to the negative impacts of these foods, already demonstrated regarding dietary nutrient profiles and the risk for several chronic non-communicable diseases. This reinforces the recommendation to avoid ultra-processed foods made in the official Brazilian Dietary Guidelines and increasingly in dietary guidelines of other countries.