Impacts of Consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods on the Maternal-Child Health: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background and AimsChanges in eating patterns have been leading to an increase in the consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF), negatively impacting the quality of the diet and generating risk of harm to the health of the adult population, however, there is no systematized evidence of the impact of UPF in maternal-child health. Thus, in this study we aimed to evaluated the association between UPF consumption and health outcomes in the maternal-child population.MethodsSystematic review registered on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) (CRD42021236633), conducted according to the PRISMA diagram in the following databases: PubMed, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, Scielo, and CAPES thesis and dissertation directory. We included original cross-sectional, case-control and cohort studies in any language. Eligibility criteria were (a) food consumption assessment by the NOVA classification, (b) health outcome (nutritional or diseases), and (c) maternal-child population (pregnant, lactating women and infants/children). All data were analyzed and extracted to a spreadsheet structured by two independent reviewers. We evaluated the methodological quality of the studies included using the Newcastle-Otawa Scale and RoB 2.ResultsSearches retrieved 7,801 studies and 15 contemplated the eligibility criteria. Most studies included were cohort studies (n = 8, 53%), had children as their population (n = 9, 60%) and only one study evaluated UPF consumption in infants and lactating women. Panoramically, we observed that a higher participation of UPF in children’s diet has been associated with different maternal-child outcomes, such as increase of weight gain, adiposity measures, overweight, early weaning, lower diet quality, metabolic alterations, diseases, and consumption of plastic originated from packaging. Only one of the studies included did not present high methodological quality.ConclusionDespite the limited literature on UPF consumption and health outcomes in the maternal-child population, the highest UPF consumption negatively impacted nutrition and disease development indicators in pregnant, lactating women and children. Considering the expressive participation of these foods in the diet, other studies should be conducted to further investigate the impact of UPF consumption on different health indicators, especially in the lactation phase for this was the one to present the most important knowledge gap.Systematic Review Registration[https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021236633], identifier [CRD42021236633].

Maternal Consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods-Rich Diet and Perinatal Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…There is growing evidence that high consumption of UPFs is indicative of low diet quality and associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease, cancer, cerebrovascular and metabolic diseases, hypertension, worse cardiometabolic risk profile, and a higher risk of all-cause mortality in adult and older populations [ 91 , 92 , 93 ]. Regarding the pregnancy period, a recent systematic review [ 27 ] indicated that high UPF consumption in pregnancy, lactation, and infancy had negative repercussions on health in general but no meta-analysis was performed. To our knowledge, this is the first study with meta-analysis to assess the effect of UPF-rich diet consumption, through unhealthy dietary patterns, Western foods and UPF intake, by pregnant women and perinatal outcomes, and is the most up-to-date and comprehensive systematic review on this topic.…”

“…A recent systematic review [ 27 ] reported that the highest UPF consumption negatively impacts nutrition and disease development indicators in pregnant, lactating women and children. However, a meta-analysis of the results was not conducted, and no other dietary patterns characterized by high UPF consumption were explored during the pregnancy period.…”

Industrialized complementary food for infants and young children: a systematic review protocol of their nutrient profile and impact on health outcomes

“…This excessive and early consumption can lead to negative effects on children's health with repercussions in adult life 21 . Although there are already studies that address the impacts of the consumption of processed foods in childhood, there is a gap in the literature of studies that assess the NP of these foods intended for and/or consumed by 0-24-month-old children 19 , which justifies the relevance of a new review on this topic.…”

“…It is noteworthy that the consumption of processed foods in childhood with excess of critical nutrients 18 (PAHO) is related to different health and nutrition outcomes, such as inadequate eating practices, poorer diet quality, excess measures and indicators of adiposity, changes in lipid profile, respiratory diseases, dental caries and even toxicity related to the ingestion of plastics present in food packaging 16,19,20 .…”

“…Despite the growing number of publications on the consumption of processed foods by the population, studies with children are limited in number and methodological quality 19,21,22 , especially in the age group under 2 years, thus being necessary to assess the impact of consumption of unhealthy foods and beverages on nutritional status and child growth 23 . Given this gap in literature and the severity of the impact of processed food consumption on children’s health, our review aims to identify: a) the participation of industrialized complementary foods in the diet of children, b) the NP of these foods, and c) the impact of the consumption of these foods on the quality diet and on the health of children under two years of age.…”