ReviewNutrients2020
Ultra-Processed Foods and Health Outcomes: A Narrative Review.
Review in Nutrients, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 354 papers, 6 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.
Dietary Advice Training in Nursing Using Simulation and Interactive Fiction: a Randomised Controlled Trial
The Relationship Between NOVA-Classified Processed Food Intake and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Türkiye
Who cites it
354 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Ultra-processed food consumption and the risk of overweight and obesity in adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2026Pooled it
- Ultra-Processed Food Intakes and Health Outcomes in Adults Older Than 60 Years: A Systematic Review.Nutrition reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Tracking and changes in the clustering of physical activity, sedentary behavior, diet, and sleep across childhood and adolescence: A systematic review.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of ultra-processed foods consumption on the burden of obesity and type 2 diabetes in Belgium: a comparative risk assessment.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Neurobiological insights into the effects of ultra-processed food on lipid metabolism and associated mental health conditions: a scoping review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Dietary Changes of Youth during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review.The Journal of nutrition · 2024Pooled it
- The risk associated with ultra-processed food intake on depressive symptoms and mental health in older adults: a target trial emulation.BMC medicine · 2025Trial
- 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
- Association of dietary patterns derived by reduced-rank regression with colorectal cancer risk and mortality.European journal of nutrition · 2024Trial
- "Warning: ultra-processed": an online experiment examining the impact of ultra-processed warning labels on consumers' product perceptions and behavioral intentions.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024Trial
- Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Childhood Allergic Diseases: Increased Risk of Asthma Onset in the SENDO Project.Allergy · 2026Article
- Review
- Association of Sleep Duration and Physical Activity with Healthy Eating Habits Among Peruvian Secondary School Students.Nutrients · 2026Observational
- Short- and long-term shifts in food purchasing behaviours and nutrition disparities in the USA during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.Nature human behaviour · 2026Article
- The MASLD-Cardio-Oncology Triangle: Dietary Patterns, Metabolic Remodelling and Implications for Cancer Therapy Tolerance.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Article
- The Hidden Burden of Water-Binding Additives in Meat Products: Biochemical, Clinical, and Psychosocial Implications.Molecular nutrition & food research · 2026Review
- Review
- Impact of A Fertility Diet on Male Reproductive Function: A 12-Week Randomized Clinical Trial in Idiopathic Infertility Patients.International journal of fertility & sterility · 2026Article
- Using Best-Worst Scaling to explore the perceived addictiveness of foods by processing level: a cross-sectional study among higher education students in Belgium.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2026Article
294 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The nutrition literature and authoritative reports increasingly recognise the concept of ultra-processed foods (UPF), as a descriptor of unhealthy diets. UPFs are now prevalent in diets worldwide. This review aims to identify and appraise the studies on healthy participants that investigated associations between levels of UPF consumption and health outcomes. This involved a systematic search for extant literature; integration and interpretation of findings from diverse study types, populations, health outcomes and dietary assessments; and quality appraisal. Of 43 studies reviewed, 37 found dietary UPF exposure associated with at least one adverse health outcome. Among adults, these included overweight, obesity and cardio-metabolic risks; cancer, type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases; irritable bowel syndrome, depression and frailty conditions; and all-cause mortality. Among children and adolescents, these included cardio-metabolic risks and asthma. No study reported an association between UPF and beneficial health outcomes. Most findings were derived from observational studies and evidence of plausible biological mechanisms to increase confidence in the veracity of these observed associations is steadily evolving. There is now a considerable body of evidence supporting the use of UPFs as a scientific concept to assess the 'healthiness' of foods within the context of dietary patterns and to help inform the development of dietary guidelines and nutrition policy actions.
Indexed as
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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.