Ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), now dominant in global diets, pose health risks that go beyond poor nutrition due to the synergistic effects of compounds in their ultracomplex industrial formulations. This narrative review aims to provide researchers an...
Ultraprocessed products (UPPs), associated with obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), are becoming predominant on the global market and a target for market-driven fortification initiatives. The aim of this article is to describe the implicati...
Background/Objectives: We investigated the effects of ultraprocessed food (UPF) consumption on metabolic disorders (e.g., adiposity, metabolic associated steatotic liver disease [MASLD], and insulin resistance) in children and adolescents with obesit...
Background: The consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with several negative health outcomes. Studies on adolescents have shown that this population has a high consumption of these foods, especially in high-income countries. However, ther...
There is growing evidence for a global transition to a more highly processed diet. While the dietary share of ultra-processed foods depends on a country’s economic status, food choice and consumption are also influenced by the socioeconomic situation...
Over the last decade, volumes of international studies have illuminated the potential harms associated with ultra-processed products sold as foods. These potential harms include, but are not limited to, an increased risk of non-communicable diseases,...
This study aimed to determine the association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and obesity among Korean adults. We used the data of 7364 participants (men 3219, women 4145) aged 19–64 years from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Exa...
Global trade agreements have shaped the food system in ways that alter the availability, accessibility, affordability, and desirability of ready-to-eat foods. We assessed the time trends of ultra-processed foods purchases in Mexican households from 1...
Background: A COVID-19 pandemic erupted, causing a global viral pneumonia outbreak, marking the most significant public health crisis of the 21st century. These changes profoundly impacted population health and well-being, leading to shifts in dietar...
Today, there is an increasing consumption of ultra-processed food products (UPFs), while more healthy options are available; however, there is no scale available that can adequately measure this phenomenon. In this context, the present study aims to...
Background: Globally, dietary patterns are shifting toward an increased consumption of ultra-processed foods, raising the risk of some metabolic and nutritional diseases from a young age. This trend is now also affecting low- and middle-income countr...
7 April 2021
Background: Ultra-processed foods are industrial formulations made from food extracts or constituents with little or no intact food and often containing additives that confer hyper-palatability. The consumption of these products increases the risk of...
Typical diets include an assortment of unprocessed, processed, and ultra-processed foods, along with culinary ingredients. Linear programming (LP) can be used to generate nutritionally adequate food patterns that meet pre-defined nutrient guidelines....
Low diet quality during pregnancy and postpartum is associated with numerous adverse maternal and infant health outcomes. This study examined relations of ultra-processed food intake with diet quality during pregnancy and postpartum. Using data from...
23 May 2022
Ultra-processed foods have been associated with increased risk of chronic disease, poor overall health and psychological outcomes. This study explored the association of ultra-processed foods with quality of life in adolescent girls from northeastern...
The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between dietary contribution of ultra-processed foods and urinary phytoestrogen concentrations in the US. Participants from cross-sectional 2009–2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surv...
Background/Objectives: The study prospectively assessed the association between sleep duration and the consumption of ultra-processed foods in adolescent students from a Brazilian capital. Methods: We observed 1431 adolescents participating in the Lo...
We described the contribution of ultra-processed foods in the U.K. diet and its association with the overall dietary content of nutrients known to affect the risk of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Cross-sectional data from the U.K. Nationa...
Recently, there has been increased scientific and clinical interest in the potential harms associated with ultra-processed foods, including poor mental health, aggression, and antisocial behavior. Research spanning epidemiology, mechanistic pre-clini...
Past public health crises (e.g., tobacco, alcohol, opioids, cholera, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), lead, pollution, venereal disease, even coronavirus (COVID-19) have been met with interventions targeted both at the individual and all of societ...
Since previous meta-analyses, which were limited only to depression and by a small number of studies available for inclusion at the time of publication, several additional studies have been published assessing the link between ultra-processed food co...
The intestinal epithelial barrier plays a key role in the absorption of nutrients and water, in the regulation of the interactions between luminal contents and the underlying immune cells, and in the defense against enteric pathogens. Additionally, t...
The consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) has increased in recent decades, worldwide. Evidence on the negative impacts of food processing on health outcomes has also been steadily increasing. The aim of this study is to describe changes in cons...
This study analyzed changes in ultra-processed food consumption patterns during weekends in patients in the post-metabolic and bariatric surgery periods. It is a cross-sectional study, which recruited and collected data via social media from adults w...
Background/Objectives: Ultra-processed food consumption has been shown to be linked with clinical cardiovascular disease. This study aims to examine the associations of ultra-processed food consumption with biomarkers for subclinical-level myocardial...
14 August 2025
Background: Understanding how food processing impacts type 2 diabetes (T2DM) control is essential for disease management. This study aimed to assess the association between ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption, as defined by the NOVA classification...
Global food systems are no longer sustainable for health, the environment, animal biodiversity and wellbeing, culinary traditions, socioeconomics, or small farmers. The increasing massive consumption of animal foods has been identified as a major det...
The present study aimed to provide a descriptive analysis of the nutrient profile of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) marketed in Italy according to three front-of-pack labeling (FOPL) schemes implemented by France, i.e., the Nutriscore; by the United Ki...
“Loss of control, LOC” eating is a major contributor to the development of obesity. Dietary protein is known to promote satiety, but little attention has been paid to the ability of protein, consumed in close proximity to snacking (20 min...
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) like pastries, packaged snacks, fast foods, and sweetened beverages have become dominant in the modern food supply and are strongly associated with numerous public health concerns. While the physical health consequences o...
The prevalence of obesity has become a global health concern, with significant impacts on quality of life and mortality rates. Recent research has highlighted the role of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in driving the obesity epidemic. UPFs undergo exte...
Background/Objectives: Obesity is a multifactorial disease associated with increased consumption of ultraprocessed foods and reduced intake of unprocessed foods. Binge eating, one of the most prevalent eating disorders among adolescents, is closely l...
The industry uses nutrition and health claims, premium offers, and promotional characters as marketing strategies (MS). The inclusion of these MS on ultra-processed products may influence child and adolescent purchase behavior. This study determined...
The prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has steadily increased in the United States. Health experts attribute the increasing prevalence of NCDs, in part, to the consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) based on epidemiological observati...
Ultra-processed foods’ (UPFs’) consumption has been positively linked to the presence of allergic symptoms, but it is yet unknown whether this is linked to their nutritional composition or allergen load. This study used the ingredient lis...
Introducing children to healthy and diverse complementary foods, either prepared at home or produced commercially, helps to establish taste preferences and good eating habits later in life. Assessing the nutrient profile of foods available commercial...
Nutritional composition and neo-formed contaminant content in ultra-processed foods, amongst other factors, may contribute to increasing overall risk of non-communicable diseases and cancer. Commercial breakfast cereals (n = 53) were classified accor...
Obesity is considered an important risk factor for the onset of asthma, playing a key role in enhancing the disease’s severity. However, there is increasing evidence linking not only obesity but also overweight with a higher risk of asthma. Alt...
While the Mediterranean diet (MD) is championed as a healthy and sustainable dietary pattern, the NOVA classification is discussed as a tool to identify ultra-processed foods and further specify healthy food choices. We tested whether the NOVA System...
Background: Epidemiology supports a link between ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and health, mediated mainly through the clustering of foods with suboptimal nutrient profiles within UPFs. However, successful NOVA categorization requires access to a food...
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are associated with lower diet quality and several non-communicable diseases. Their consumption varies between countries/regions of the world. We aimed to describe the consumption of UPFs in adults aged 18–75 years...
Background: Few studies have examined associations between ultra-processed food intake and biomarkers of inflammation, and inconsistent results have been reported in the small number of studies that do exist. As such, further investigation is require...
Over the last decade there has been increasing interest in the links between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and various neuropsychiatric disorders, aggression, and antisocial behavior. Neurolaw is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to tr...
Background/Objectives: This scoping review explores the relationship between ultra-processed food (UPF), bone health, and joint diseases, focusing on its potential impact on bone mineral density (BMD), osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and inflammatory a...
Background: Ultra-processed food (UPF) is currently not included in most countries’ dietary guidance. However, there may be growing public interest and consumer avoidance of UPF due to media reporting of studies on the negative health outcomes...
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is a food category within the NOVA system. The key feature of UPFs are foods that have been highly processed and contain various additives, especially those that are industrially produced. It is claimed that UPFs are inhe...
The consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) has become a central topic in discussions surrounding public health, nutrition, and consumer behaviour. This study aimed to investigate the key factors shaping customer perceptions and attitudes towards...
Overweight and obesity have increased rapidly in the past few decades in China, and less research has focused on the association between the consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and overweight or obesity in Chinese adults. The objective of thi...
13 November 2024
This study aimed to investigate the association between child development, daily habits, and ultra-processed food consumption with screen exposure in 4-year-old children. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire that included socio...
Adolescents exposed to food and beverage advertisements (FBAs) typically low in nutrient density can be influenced in their food choices, eating behaviors, and health. This study examines the association between perceptions and trust of FBAs (key pre...
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