ArticlePublic health nutrition2018
The share of ultra-processed foods determines the overall nutritional quality of diets in Brazil.
Article in Public health nutrition, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 147 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
147 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Consumption of ultra-processed foods and risk for Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Pooled it
- A Systematic Review on Processed/Ultra-Processed Foods and Arterial Hypertension in Adults and Older People.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Worldwide Consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods: Findings and Criticisms.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Adherence to Food-Based Dietary Guidelines: A Systemic Review of High-Income and Low- and Middle-Income Countries.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Market strategies used by processed food manufacturers to increase and consolidate their power: a systematic review and document analysis.Globalization and health · 2021Pooled it
- Blood pressure variation and ultra-processed food consumption in children with obesity.European journal of pediatrics · 2023Trial
- Effects of using a mobile health application on the health conditions of patients with arterial hypertension: A pilot trial in the context of Brazil's Family Health Strategy.Scientific reports · 2020Trial
- A Nutrition Education Intervention Using NOVA Is More Effective Than MyPlate Alone: A Proof-of-Concept Randomized Controlled Trial.Nutrients · 2019Trial
- The Gut-brain-adipose Axis in Ultra-processed Food and Obesity: A Mechanistic Synthesis and Its Implications for Food Classification.Current obesity reports · 2026Review
- Within-Person Variation in Ultra-Processed Food Consumption Is Associated with Total Daily Energy Intake.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Ultra-Processed Food Consumption Is Associated With an Unfavorable Nutrient Profile and a Higher Likelihood of Hypertension Among Women Living in Brazilian Favelas.Journal of lipid and atherosclerosis · 2026Article
- Development of a simplified NOVA-based scoring tool for assessing ultra-processed food consumption among Korean young adults: a cross-sectional study.Korean journal of community nutrition · 2026Article
- Associations of ultra-processed food intake with bone mineral density and fractures in the UK Biobank.The British journal of nutrition · 2026Article
- Blood pressure is associated with ultra-processed food intake in a sex- and age-specific manner during the transition to adulthood in Cebu, Philippines.The British journal of nutrition · 2026Article
- The habit of adding salt to food at the table and its association with socio-demographic, anthropometric and dietary characteristics in Brazilian older adults.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Ultra-processed food intake is associated with altered glucose homeostasis in young adults with a history of overweight or obesity: a longitudinal study.Nutrition & metabolism · 2025Article
- Diet quality and consumption of ultra-processed foods according to age groups in Brazil: insights from the National Dietary Survey 2017-2018.The British journal of nutrition · 2025Article
- Article
- Gender Differences in Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Its Association with Obesity Among Korean Adults.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Association of Maternal Consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods with Feeding Practices and Malnutrition in Breastfed Infants: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
87 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo estimate the dietary share of ultra-processed foods and to determine its association with the overall nutritional quality of diets in Brazil.
designCross-sectional.
settingBrazil. SUBJECTS: A representative sample of 32 898 Brazilians aged ≥10 years was studied. Food intake data were collected. We calculated the average dietary content of individual nutrients and compared them across quintiles of energy share of ultra-processed foods. Then we identified nutrient-based dietary patterns, and evaluated the association between quintiles of dietary share of ultra-processed foods and the patterns' scores.
resultsThe mean per capita daily dietary energy intake was 7933 kJ (1896 kcal), with 58·1 % from unprocessed or minimally processed foods, 10·9 % from processed culinary ingredients, 10·6 % from processed foods and 20·4 % from ultra-processed foods. Consumption of ultra-processed foods was directly associated with high consumption of free sugars and total, saturated and trans fats, and with low consumption of protein, dietary fibre, and most of the assessed vitamins and minerals. Four nutrient-based dietary patterns were identified. 'Healthy pattern 1' carried more protein and micronutrients, and less free sugars. 'Healthy pattern 2' carried more vitamins. 'Healthy pattern 3' carried more dietary fibre and minerals and less free sugars. 'Unhealthy pattern' carried more total, saturated and trans fats, and less dietary fibre. The dietary share of ultra-processed foods was inversely associated with 'healthy pattern 1' (-0·16; 95 % CI -0·17, -0·15) and 'healthy pattern 3' (-0·18; 95 % CI -0·19, -0·17), and directly associated with 'unhealthy pattern' (0·17; 95 % CI 0·15, 0·18).
conclusionsDietary share of ultra-processed foods determines the overall nutritional quality of diets in Brazil.
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