Level of understanding and consumption of ultra-processed food in a Mediterranean population: A cross-sectional study.

Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis

Endocrinology Department. Hospital del Mar, Passeig Marítim, 25-29; 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Department of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Campus Universitari Mar. Dr. Aiguader, 80, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Institut Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques (IMIM). Dr. Aiguader, 80, 08003 Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address:

Published: April 2022

Background And Aims: Since the population may not be aware of ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption as a result of ignorance or non-recognition, this study aimed to ascertain the main characteristics of subjects regarding their knowledge of different easily acquired foods through a questionnaire in Google Forms format with 52 questions. Secondary objectives were to determine whether the profile of UPF consumers can be defined based on sex, age, sociodemographic factors, and lifestyle.

Methods And Results: Responses were received from 1037 participants from a convenience sample; of these, 83 (8.0%) were sporadic or non-users, and 954 (92.0%) were frequent UPF consumers. The participants of the upper tertile correctly matched >12 food items, those of the medium tertile matched 12-9 items, and those of the lower tertile matched <9 items. Factors independently associated with participants who better identified UPF (upper tertile) compared to those of the lower tertile (reference) were female sex (OR: 2.54, 95%CI: 1.70-3.79; p < 0.001), age between 21 and 50 (OR: 3.63, 95% CI: 2.56-5.15; p < 0.001), living with family (OR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.41-9.96; p = 0.033), and eating more fruit (≥3 pieces/day, OR: 2.30, 95% CI: 1.61-3.27; p < 0.001).

Conclusions: These findings highlight the high consumption and low degree of awareness of UPF among consumers based mainly on food composition.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2021.11.002DOI Listing

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