Degree of food processing and its relationship with overweight and body adiposity in Brazilian adults

SILVA, Danielle Cristina Guimarães da; FERREIRA, Fabrícia Geralda; PEREIRA, Dayana Ladeira Macedo; MAGALHÃES, Emanuele Louise Gomes de; LONGO, Giana Zarbato

doi:10.1590/1678-9865202134e200135

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Brasil

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Sumário

Original • Rev Nutr 34 • 2021 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-9865202134e200135 copy

Degree of food processing and its relationship with overweight and body adiposity in Brazilian adults

Grau de processamento de alimentos e sua relação com sobrepeso e adiposidade corporal em adultos brasileiros

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT

Objective

To check the relationship of the degree of food processing with overweight and body adiposity in Brazilian adults.

Methods

Cross-sectional study with 670 adults (334 women and 336 men) aged 20-59 years in Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil, based on population data collected using a questionnaire, 24-hour dietary recall interview, and anthropometric evaluation. Consumed foods were categorized into four groups: unprocessed or minimally processed foods, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods, and ultra-processed foods. Poisson regression models were used to assess the relationship between degree of food processing and overweight and body adiposity.

Results

The contribution of unprocessed or minimally processed foods to total energy intake was a protective factor for overweight in all quartiles. The contribution of ultra-processed foods to total energy intake was a risk factor for overweight in the highest quartile (prevalence ratio, 1.308; 95% confidence interval, 1.085-1.577). High energy intake from ultra-processed foods was a risk factor for excess adiposity in the highest quartiles.

Conclusion

Consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with overweight and excess adiposity, whereas consumption of unprocessed and minimally processed foods is a protective factor for overweight.

Keywords
Adult; Eating; Food guide; Industrialized foods; Obesity

Variable		Relative frequency (%)	95%CI
Sex
	Male	50.1	45.3-54.9
	Female	49.9	45.0-54.6
Age (years)
	20-29	23.8	16.7-32.7
	30-39	26.3	21.7-31.4
	40-49	24.2	19.5-29.7
	50-59	25.7	20.2-31.7
Education (years)
	0-3	13.6	07.6-23.1
	4-7	16.8	12.3-22.6
	≥8	69.6	58.4-78.7
Smoking
	Non-smoker	64.9	57.6-71.5
	Smoker or ex-smoker	35.1	23.3-46.1
Level of physical activity in leisure
	Not adequate	75.6	72.1-78.6
	Adequate	24.4	21.3-27.8
Screen time
	Non-excessive	91.1	87.8-93.5
	Excessive	08.9	06.4-12.2
Nutritional status
	Adequate	50.6	43.6-57.6
	Overweight	49.4	42.3-56.3
Excess body fat
	No	38.0	32.4-43.9
	Yes	62.0	56.0-67.5

Food groups and subgroups		Mean energy intake
		Overall n=670		Overweight n=298		Excessive body adiposity n=389
		%	SD	%	SD	%	SD
Unprocessed or minimally processed foods		57.92	1.29	56.65	1.92	56.16	1.84
	Rice	10.78	0.34	11.70	0.46	10.22	0.46
	Beans	7.49	0.27	7.35	0.32	7.57	0.30
	Meat, fish, and eggs	14.37	0.46	15.23	0.97	15.17	0.63
	Fruits^a a Includes fresh fruit juice;	5.90	0.36	5.22	0.44	5.54	0.49
	Vegetables^b b Includes vegetables, roots, and tubers;	4.77	0.31	3.80	0.63	3.88	0.67
	Milks	11.17	0.88	10.02	1.46	10.32	1.31
	Coffees and teas	0.23	0.08	0.14	0.03	0.18	0.04
	Other grains^c c Corn, oat, wheat, flours, and grain-based foods such as noodles;	3.05	0.25	3.10	0.48	03.14	0.47
	Other processed or minimally processed foods^d d Nuts and seeds, natural yogurt, lentil, soy-based foods, and food items composed of several mixed foods;	0.15	0.04	0.08	0.03	0.10	0.03
	Spices	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01
Processed culinary ingredients		3.43	0.19	3.74	0.35	3.07	0.27
	Sugar, salt, oil, vinegar, olive oil, and butter	3.43	0.19	3.74	0.35	3.07	0.27
Processed foods		14.00	0.70	15.13	0.87	17.74	0.73
	Cheeses	1.70	0.21	2.41	0.30	2.18	0.31
	Wheat cake	6.64	0.32	6.04	0.60	8.41	0.58
	Processed meat^e e Tuna, sardine, and bacon;	1.08	0.20	1.30	0.49	1.44	0.53
	Canned fruits and vegetables	0.23	0.05	0.31	0.08	0.33	0.08
	Fermented alcoholic beverages	4.35	0.66	5.07	0.89	5.56	0.94
Ultra-processed foods		24.65	1.32	24.45	1.73	23.00	1.70
	Sweet/salty biscuits and breads	8.59	0.54	7.93	0.67	6.89	0.59
	Hard liquors	0.63	0.16	0.53	0.28	0.59	0.32
	Soft drinks and industrialized fruit juices	2.68	0.15	2.39	0.28	2.39	1.70
	Candies^f f Hard candies, pies, chocolate, and jelly;	3.39	0.30	3.64	0.57	3.26	0.62
	Finger foods and fast foods	4.17	0.45	4.32	0.62	4.14	0.62
	Sausages	2.51	0.30	3.18	0.63	3.50	0.67
	Breakfast cereals^g g Breakfast cereals, sauces, and margarine;	1.19	0.09	1.04	0.14	1.21	0.15
	Sugared milk beverages	0.84	0.08	0.63	0.10	0.59	0.07
	Pastries^h h Instant noodles, lasagna, instant dry soup mixes, and popcorn.	0.65	0.11	0.79	0.14	0.39	0.12

Food groups			Overweight		Excessive body adiposity
Food groups			Prevalence ratio	95%CI	Prevalence ratio	95%CI
Unprocessed or minimally processed foods
	Q1	Reference			Reference
	Q2		0.742	0.565-0.976	0.910	0.809-1.023
	Q3		0.705	0.563-0.884	0.835	0.692-1.001
	Q4		0.762	0.574-0.913	0.877	0.754-1.021
Processed culinary ingredients
	Q1	Reference			Reference
	Q2		0.807	0.641-1.015	0.881	0.785-0.988
	Q3		0.803	0.608-1.060	0.849	0.720-1.000
	Q4		0.900	0.719-1.125	0.910	0.797-1.039
Processed foods
	Q1	Reference			Reference
	Q2		1.033	0.7894-1.353	1.087	0.926-1.277
	Q3		0.964	0.814-1.142	1.003	0.865-1.164
	Q4		0.907	0.636-1.294	1.008	0.883-1.151
Ultra-processed foods
	Q1		Reference		Reference
	Q2		1.002	0.759-1.321	1.027	0.905-1.165
	Q3		1.038	0.779-1.381	1.094	1.040-1.272
	Q4		1.308	1.085-1.577	1.119	1.110-1.287

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[1] Correspondence to: DCG SILVA. E-mail: daniellenut@hotmail.com.