ArticlePublic health nutrition2019
Consumption of ultra-processed foods decreases the quality of the overall diet of middle-aged Japanese adults.
Article in Public health nutrition, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 60 citations in OpenAlex.
- Who consumes ultra-processed food? A systematic review of sociodemographic determinants of ultra-processed food consumption from nationally representative samples.Nutrition research reviews · 2024Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of the Bidirectional Association Between Consumption of Ultra-processed Food and Sleep Parameters Among Adults.Current obesity reports · 2023Pooled it
- Ultra-Processed Foods and Nutritional Dietary Profile: A Meta-Analysis of Nationally Representative Samples.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Worldwide Consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods: Findings and Criticisms.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Consumption of ultra-processed foods among patients with rheumatic diseases: a cross-sectional study and validation of the short screening questionnaire of highly processed food consumption (sQ-HPF) in the Greek language.Rheumatology international · 2026Article
- Per-Capita Food Availability and Global Dementia Burden Across Multiple Exposure Windows.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Trends in Female Breast Cancer Incidence among Japanese, Korean, and US Populations: An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2026Article
- Article
- Ultra-processed food intake and dietary behaviors in Korean adolescents: a cross-sectional study based on the 2019-2023 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.Korean journal of community nutrition · 2025Article
- Article
- Associations between adherence to Japanese food guide spinning top and nutrient density, climate impacts, and monetary cost: findings from the Saitama Prefecture Nutrition Survey 2017.European journal of nutrition · 2025Article
- Quantification of regional variation in ultra-processed food consumption and its sociodemographic correlates across Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka: insights from the South Asia Biobank.The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia · 2025Article
- Review
- Higher ultra-processed food consumption is associated with poor nutritional quality but not with obesity in Israeli adults.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Examination of hyper-palatable foods and their nutrient characteristics using globally crowdsourced data.PloS one · 2025Article
- Article
- Ultra-processed foods, dietary diversity and micronutrient intakes in the Australian population.European journal of nutrition · 2024Article
- Higher ultra processed foods intake is associated with low muscle mass in young to middle-aged adults: a cross-sectional NHANES study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Article
- Consumption of highly processed foods in relation to overall diet quality among Japanese adults: a nationwide study.Public health nutrition · 2023Article
- Ultra-processed food consumption deteriorates the profile of micronutrients consumed by Portuguese adults and elderly: the UPPER project.European journal of nutrition · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo estimate the consumption of ultra-processed foods and determine its association with dietary quality among middle-aged Japanese adults.
designCross-sectional study using data from the Saitama Prefecture Health and Nutrition Survey 2011. Dietary intake was assessed using one- or two-day dietary records. Sociodemographic and lifestyle factors were obtained via self-administered questionnaire. Food items were classified according to the NOVA system into four groups: unprocessed or minimally processed foods; processed culinary ingredients; processed foods; and ultra-processed foods. The dietary share of each NOVA food group and their subgroups was calculated in relation to total energy intake, and the average dietary content of key nutrients was determined across tertiles of the dietary energy share of ultra-processed foods (low, middle and high intake).
settingSaitama Prefecture in Japan.
participantsCommunity-dwelling adults aged 30-59 years (256 men, 361 women).
resultsConsumption of unprocessed or minimally processed foods, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods and ultra-processed foods contributed 44·9 (se 0·8) %, 5·5 (se 0·2) %, 11·3 (se 0·4) % and 38·2 (se 0·9) % of total daily energy intake, respectively. A positive and statistically significant linear trend was found between the dietary share of ultra-processed foods (tertiles) and the dietary content of total and saturated fat, while an inverse relationship was observed for protein, vitamin K, vitamin B6, dietary fibre, magnesium, phosphorus and iron.
conclusionsOur findings show that higher consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with decreased dietary quality among Japanese adults.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.