Association Between Childhood Consumption of Ultraprocessed Food and Adiposity Trajectories in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children Birth Cohort
Chang K, Khandpur N, Neri D, Touvier M, Huybrechts I, Millett C, Vamos EP
JAMA pediatrics · 123 citations
Review labels
Neutral facts our review recorded about how this study was done. They describe method, never whether we like the result.
How it was studied
- Design
- Cohort study (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
- Intake measured by
- Food diaries or recalls
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- Government
- World Health Organization
- Nonprofit
- Wellcome Trust
- Government
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- University or hospital
- University of Bristol
- Government
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
- Government
- Medical Research Council
- University or hospital
- School for Public Health Research
- Grants
- Medical Research Council (217065/Z/19/Z); University of Bristol (217065/Z/19/Z); Wellcome Trust (084632); Wellcome Trust (076467); University of Bristol (076467); Medical Research Council (076467); National Institute for Health and Care Research (217065/Z/19/Z); Medical Research Council (084632/Z/08); Wellcome Trust (217065/Z/19/Z); Medical Research Council (217065); Medical Research Council (PD-SPH-2015); School for Public Health Research (PD‐SPH‐2015); Wellcome Trust (084632/Z/08/Z); Medical Research Council (MC_PC_15018); National Institute for Health and Care Research (PD‐SPH‐2015); Wellcome Trust (217065/Z/19/); Wellcome Trust (217065); Medical Research Council (MC_PC_19009); Wellcome Trust (PD-SPH-2015); Wellcome Trust (076467/Z05/z)
Based on 7 listed funder(s).
Publication
- Published
- 2021-06-14 · JAMA Pediatr · vol. 175 · issue 9 · p. e211573
- Publisher
- American Medical Association
- Cited
- 159 citations · more than 99% of similar papers · 10.3× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 41 works
- Access
- Open access (hybrid journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging · Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling · Nutritional Studies and Diet
- Keywords
- Medicine, Longitudinal study, Cohort, Association (psychology), Cohort study, Pediatrics, Consumption (sociology), Demography, Environmental health, Internal medicine, Pathology
- MeSH
- humans, birth weight, body mass index, cohort studies, longitudinal studies, parents, adolescent, child, child, preschool, diet records, england, female, male, adiposity, food quality, body-weight trajectory
7 authors
From GB, US, BR, FR
- Kiara Chang · correspondingImperial College London
- Neha KhandpurHarvard University; Universidade de São Paulo
- Daniela Almeida NeriUniversidade de São Paulo
- Mathilde TouvierConservatoire National des Arts et Métiers; Université Sorbonne Paris Nord; Centre de Recherche Épidémiologie et Statistique
- Inge HuybrechtsCentre international de recherche sur le cancer
- Christopher J. MillettImperial College London
Abstract
Importance
Reports of associations between higher consumption of ultraprocessed foods (UPF) and elevated risks of obesity, noncommunicable diseases, and mortality in adults are increasing. However, associations of UPF consumption with long-term adiposity trajectories have never been investigated in children.
Objective
To assess longitudinal associations between UPF consumption and adiposity trajectories from childhood to early adulthood.
Design, setting, and participants
This prospective birth cohort study included children who participated in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) in Avon County, southwest England. Children were followed up from 7 to 24 years of age during the study period from September 1, 1998, to October 31, 2017. Data were analyzed from March 1, 2020, to January 31, 2021.
Exposures
Baseline dietary intake data were collected using 3-day food diaries. Consumption of UPF (applying the NOVA food classification system) was computed as a percentage of weight contribution in the total daily food intake for each participant and categorized into quintiles.
Main outcomes and measures
Repeated recordings of objectively assessed anthropometrics (body mass index [BMI; calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared], weight, and waist circumference) and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry measurements (fat and lean mass indexes [calculated as fat and lean mass, respectively, divided by height in meters squared] and body fat percentage). Associations were evaluated using linear growth curve models and were adjusted for study covariates.
Results
A total of 9025 children (4481 [49.7%] female and 4544 [50.3%] male) were followed up for a median of 10.2 (interquartile range, 5.2-16.4) years. The mean (SD) UPF consumption at baseline was 23.2% (5.0%) in quintile 1, 34.7% (2.5%) in quintile 2, 43.4% (2.5%) in quintile 3, 52.7% (2.8%) in quintile 4, and 67.8% (8.1%) in quintile 5. Among those in the highest quintile of UPF consumption compared with their lowest quintile counterpart, trajectories of BMI increased by an additional 0.06 (95% CI, 0.04-0.08) per year; fat mass index, by an additional 0.03 (95% CI, 0.01-0.05) per year; weight, by an additional 0.20 (95% CI, 0.11-0.28) kg per year; and waist circumference, by an additional 0.17 (95% CI, 0.11-0.22) cm per year.
Conclusions and relevance
These findings suggest that higher UPF consumption is associated with greater increases in adiposity from childhood to early adulthood. Robust public health measures that promote minimally processed foods and discourage UPF consumption among children are urgently needed to reduce obesity in England and globally.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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