Ultra-processed foods and human health: An umbrella review and updated meta-analyses of observational evidence
Dai S, Wellens J, Yang N, Li D, Wang J, Wang L, Yuan S, He Y, Song P, Munger R, Kent MP, MacFarlane AJ, Mullie P, Duthie S, Little J, Theodoratou E, Li X
Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) · 75 citations
How it was studied
- Design
- Meta-analysis (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
- Nonprofit
- Cancer Research UK
- Government
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Government
- Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
- Government
- Vlaamse regering
- Government
- Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province
- Government
- Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of Zhejiang Province
- Grants
- Cancer Research UK (C31250/A22804); Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province (2022NSFSC1314); Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of Zhejiang Province (C31250/A22804); Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (1S06023N); Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of Zhejiang Province (LR22H260001); National Natural Science Foundation of China (82204019)
Based on 6 listed funder(s).
Publication
- Published
- 2024-04-17 · Clin Nutr · vol. 43 · issue 6 · pp. 1386–1394
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Cited
- 142 citations · more than 100% of similar papers · 53.9× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 113 works
- Access
- Open access (hybrid journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling · Nutrition, Genetics, and Disease · Dye analysis and toxicity
- Keywords
- Medicine, Observational study, Environmental health, Intensive care medicine, Pathology
- MeSH
- humans, diet, food handling, female, meta-analysis as topic, fast foods, observational studies as topic, food, processed
17 authors
From CN, GB, BE, SE, US, CA, FR
- Shuhui DaiSecond Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University
- Judith WellensJohn Radcliffe Hospital; KU Leuven
- Nan YangSecond Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University
- Doudou LiZhengzhou University
- Jingjing WangSecond Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University
- Lijuan WangSecond Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University; University of Edinburgh
Abstract
Background & aims
Ultra-processed food (UPF) intake has increased sharply over the last few decades and has been consistently asserted to be implicated in the development of non-communicable diseases. We aimed to evaluate and update the existing observational evidence for associations between ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and human health.
Methods
We searched Medline and Embase from inception to March 2023 to identify and update meta-analyses of observational studies examining the associations between UPF consumption, as defined by the NOVA classification, and a wide spectrum of health outcomes. For each health outcome, we estimated the summary effect size, 95% confidence interval (CI), between-study heterogeneity, evidence of small-study effects, and evidence of excess-significance bias. These metrics were used to evaluate evidence credibility of the identified associations.
Results
This umbrella review identified 39 meta-analyses on the associations between UPF consumption and health outcomes. We updated all meta-analyses by including 122 individual articles on 49 unique health outcomes. The majority of the included studies divided UPF consumption into quartiles, with the lowest quartile being the reference group. We identified 25 health outcomes associated with UPF consumption. For observational studies, 2 health outcomes, including renal function decline (OR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.18, 1.33) and wheezing in children and adolescents (OR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.34, 1.49), showed convincing evidence (Class I); and five outcomes were reported with highly suggestive evidence (Class II), including diabetes mellitus, overweight, obesity, depression, and common mental disorders.
Conclusions
High UPF consumption is associated with an increased risk of a variety of chronic diseases and mental health disorders. At present, not a single study reported an association between UPF intake and a beneficial health outcome. These findings suggest that dietary patterns with low consumption of UPFs may render broad public health benefits.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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