ArticleEuropean journal of nutrition2020
Ultra-processed food consumption drives excessive free sugar intake among all age groups in Australia.
Article in European journal of nutrition, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 94 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
- 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
- Effectiveness of an Intervention to Prevent Ultra-Processed Foods and Added Sugar in the First Year of Life: A Multicentre Randomised Controlled Trial in Brazil.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2025Trial
- Trial
- The Effect of a 14-DayNutrients · 2022Trial
- Personalised nutrition advice reduces intake of discretionary foods and beverages: findings from the Food4Me randomised controlled trial.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2021Trial
- Intake of ultra-processed foods in Sweden and its association with diet quality and weight status: cross-sectional analyses from three national dietary surveys.Nutrition journal · 2026Article
- Ultra-processed food supply in hospitals: A cross-sectional analysis of Australian hospitals using cook fresh foodservices.Nutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia · 2026Article
- Genetic and Environmental Influences on Free Sugar and Nonnutritive Sweetener Intake in Toddlerhood and Middle Childhood Using Data from the Gemini Twin Cohort: Findings from the SWEET Project.The Journal of nutrition · 2026Article
- Unhealthy Food and Beverage Marketing on Public Transport Infrastructure in Western Melbourne.Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals · 2026Article
- Public knowledge of ultra-processed foods: Insights from a national survey of Australian adults.Nutrition journal · 2026Article
- Pre-Diagnosis Dietary Pattern Differences in Australian Children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Exposure Across Ethnicities.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Integrated metabolomics and genetic analyses reveal loss of protective docosahexaenoic acid as a key driver linking ultra-processed food to Crohn's disease risk.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Association of ultra-processed foods and dental health-results from Bandare-Kong cohort: structural equation modeling.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Ultra-processed foods and accelerated aging in adults: an emerging public health challenge for nutrition and functional health.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Phytochemical Composition and Overall Taste Modulation in Lettuce: Combination of Cultivar and Biofertiliser.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Research roadmap for ultra-processed foods in the context of the Australian food system.Nutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia · 2025Article
- Energy Density and Level of Processing of Packaged Food and Beverages Intended for Consumption by Australian Children.Nutrients · 2025Article
- A quantitative environmental impact assessment of Australian ultra-processed beverages and impact reduction scenarios.Public health nutrition · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo analyze the contribution of ultra-processed foods to the intake of free sugars among different age groups in Australia.
methodsDietary intakes of 12,153 participants from the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (2011-12) aged 2+ years were evaluated. Food items collected through two 24-h recalls were classified according to the NOVA system. The contribution of each NOVA food group and their subgroups to total energy intake was determined by age group. Mean free sugar content in diet fractions made up exclusively of ultra-processed foods, or of processed foods, or of a combination of un/minimally processed foods and culinary ingredients (which includes table sugar and honey) were compared. Across quintiles of the energy contribution of ultra-processed foods, differences in the intake of free sugars, as well as in the prevalence of excessive free sugar intake (≥ 10% of total energy) were examined.
resultsUltra-processed foods had the highest energy contribution among children, adolescents and adults in Australia, with older children and adolescents the highest consumers (53.1% and 54.3% of total energy, respectively). The diet fraction restricted to ultra-processed items contained significantly more free sugars than the two other diet fractions. Among all age groups, a positive and statistically significant linear association was found between quintiles of ultra-processed food consumption and both the average intake of free sugars and the prevalence of excessive free sugar intake.
conclusionUltra-processed food consumption drives excessive free sugar intake among all age groups in Australia.
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Registered trials
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