Food processing and cardiometabolic risk factors: a systematic review

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the evidence for the association between food consumption according to processing and cardiometabolic factors in adults and/or the elderly. METHOD: Two independent evaluators analyzed the electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science and Lilacs until December 2018. We used the following terms: (convenience foods OR food processing OR highly-processed OR industrialized foods OR minimally-processed OR prepared foods OR processed foods OR ultra-processed OR ultraprocessed OR ultra processed OR unprocessed) AND (metabolic syndrome OR hypertension OR blood pressure OR diabetes mellitus OR glucose OR glycaemia OR insulin OR cholesterol OR triglycerides OR blood lipids OR overweight OR obesity) AND (adult OR adults OR adulthood OR aged OR elderly OR old). We assessed methodological and evidence qualities, and also extracted information for the qualitative synthesis from the selected studies. RESULTS: Of the 6,423 studies identified after removing duplicates, eleven met the eligibility criteria. The main food classification we used was Nova. The consumption of ultra-processed foods was positively associated with overweight and obesity, high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome. All articles included met more than 50% of the methodological quality criteria. The quality of evidence was considered moderate for the outcome overweight and obesity and weak for hypertension and metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: The Nova food classification stands out in the area of nutritional epidemiology when assessing the effects of food processing on health outcomes. Although caution is required in the interpretation, the results indicated that the consumption of ultra-processed foods can have an unfavorable impact in the health of individuals.

Escore Nova de consumo de alimentos ultraprocessados: descrição e avaliação de desempenho no Brasil

“…Os achados deste estudo, somados aos de estudo similar sobre a versão do escore utilizada pelo sistema Vigitel 14 , indicam ser possível monitorar a participação de alimentos ultraprocessados na dieta de forma eficaz, rápida e prática. Note-se que essa participação vem sendo associada, no Brasil e em vários países do mundo, à intensa deterioração da qualidade das dietas 3 e ao risco aumentado de obesidade, diabetes, doenças cardiovasculares e várias outras doenças crônicas não transmissíveis de grande relevância epidemiológica [4][5][6][7][8][9][10] . Como parte do programa Immana (The Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions), baseado na London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine c , o rastreador Nova de consumo de alimentos ultraprocessados está sendo adaptado para uso na Índia, Senegal e Equador, o que permitirá que o desempenho do escore Nova de consumo de alimentos ultraprocessados seja estudado em outros países.…”

“…Inquéritos nutricionais realizados em amostras probabilísticas da população de vários países evidenciam que o consumo de alimentos ultraprocessados, medido pelo percentual da ingestão total de energia relativa a esses alimentos, está forte e inversamente relacionado à qualidade nutricional da dieta 3 . Revisões sistemáticas de estudos de coorte bem conduzidos e de grande porte mostram que o mesmo percentual calórico proveniente de alimentos ultraprocessados está diretamente associado ao risco de doenças crônicas não transmissíveis, como obesidade, diabetes, hipertensão, dislipidemias, doenças cardio e cerebrovasculares, câncer em geral, câncer de mama e depressão, assim como à mortalidade precoce por qualquer causa [4][5][6][7][8][9][10] .…”

Ultra-Processed Food Consumption is Associated with Renal Function Decline in Older Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study

“…By contrast, UPF consumption has previously been associated with hypertension, diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome [ 45 ], which in turn, are major risk factors for renal function impairment. In addition, in our study UPF consumption increased the risk of renal function decline independently of hypertension, diabetes, BMI, as well as other chronic conditions.…”

Poor Eating Habits and Selected Determinants of Food Choice Were Associated With Ultraprocessed Food Consumption in Brazilian Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Nonetheless, a higher consumption of foods in this processing level was still associated with a nutritionally inadequate diet (i.e., higher energy and carbohydrate intake and lower protein intake), which is in line with other studies that also reported an association between ultraprocessed food consumption and less desirable dietary patterns ( 34 – 36 ). Particular attention should be given to high consumers of ultraprocessed foods during the COVID-19 pandemic, as this type of food is associated with increased adiposity ( 37 – 40 ), even in a short period of time ( 41 ).…”