Consumption of ultra-processed foods and health outcomes: a systematic review of epidemiological studies
Chen X, Zhang Z, Yang H, Qiu P, Wang H, Wang F, Zhao Q, Fang J, Nie J
Nutrition journal · 320 citations
How it was studied
- Design
- Systematic review (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Clinical events such as disease or death
- Intake measured by
- Not stated
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- University or hospital
- Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University
- Government
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- Government
- National Key R&D Program of China
- Grants
- National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC0112302)
Based on 3 listed funder(s) and full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2020-08-20 · Nutr J · vol. 19 · issue 1 · p. 86
- Publisher
- BioMed Central
- Cited
- 520 citations · more than 99% of similar papers · 15.2× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 69 works
- Access
- Open access (journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling · Nutrition, Genetics, and Disease · Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology
- Keywords
- Medicine, Gestational diabetes, Overweight, Obesity, Epidemiology, Metabolic syndrome, Cohort study, Environmental health, Gerontology, Internal medicine, Pregnancy
- MeSH
- humans, diet, epidemiologic studies, prospective studies, cross-sectional studies, adolescent, female, male, fast foods
9 authors
From CN
- Xiaojia ChenWuhan University; Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention; Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University
- Zhang ZhangWuhan University; Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention; Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University
- Huijie YangWuhan University; Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention; Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University
- Peishan QiuWuhan University; Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention; Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University
- Haizhou WangWuhan University; Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention; Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University
- Fan WangWuhan University; Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention; Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University
Abstract
Background
Consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) plays a potential role in the development of obesity and other diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), but no studies have systematically focused on this. This study aimed to summarize the evidence for the association between UPFs consumption and health outcomes.
Methods
A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science to identify all relevant studies. Epidemiological studies were included, and identified studies were evaluated for risk of bias.A narrative review of the synthesized findings was provided to assess the association between UPFs consumption and health outcomes.
Results
20 studies (12 cohort and 8 cross-sectional studies) were included in the analysis, with a total of 334,114 participants and 10 health outcomes. In a narrative review, high UPFs consumption was obviously associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, overall cardiovascular diseases, coronary heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, overweight and obesity, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, overall cancer, postmenopausal breast cancer, gestational obesity, adolescent asthma and wheezing, and frailty. It showed no significant association with cardiovascular disease mortality, prostate and colorectal cancers, gestational diabetes mellitus and gestational overweight.
Conclusions
This study indicated a positive association between UPFs consumption and risk of several health outcomes. Large-scale prospective designed studies are needed to confirm our findings.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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