Data
Year of publication
2016
Kind
Quantitative
Design
Cross-sectional
Classification
NOVA
Country studied
Canada
Data
Secondary
Data collected
One 24 hours recall
Study setting
Household
Age group of participants
All ages/2+
Participant sex
Mixed
Target population
General
Sample size
n= 33694 (participants)
Consumption of ultra-processed foods predicts diet quality in Canada
goal
Describes food consumption patterns in Canada according to the types of food processing using the NOVA classification and investigates the association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and the nutrient profile of the diet.
Results
In 2004, 48% of calories consumed by Canadians came from ultra-processed foods. Consumption of such foods was high amongst all socioeconomic groups, and particu-larly in children and adolescents. As a group, ultra-processed foods were grossly nutritionally inferior tonon-ultra-processed foods. After adjusting for covariates, a significant and positive relationship was found between the dietary share of ultra-processed foods and the content in carbohydrates, free sugars,total and saturated fats and energy density, while an inverse relationship was observed with the dietary content in protein,fiber, vitamins A, C, D, B6 and B12, niacin, thiamine, riboflavin, as well as zinc, iron,magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and potassium. Lowering the dietary share of ultra-processed foodsand raising consumption of hand-made meals from unprocessed or minimally processed foods wouldsubstantially improve the diet quality of Canadian.
Authors
Moubarac J-C, Batal M, Louzada ML, Martinez Steele E, Monteiro CA.
Log
Appetite
DOIs