ArticleBMJ nutrition, prevention & health2021
Effect of ultraprocessed food intake on cardiometabolic risk is mediated by diet quality: a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMJ nutrition, prevention & health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A meta-analysis of epigenome-wide association studies of ultra-processed food consumption with DNA methylation in European children.Clinical epigenetics · 2025Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Worldwide Consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods: Findings and Criticisms.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Exploring the Connection Between Ultra-Processed Foods and Breast Cancer: From Adiposity to Inflammation and Beyond.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Separating Myths From Facts About Bread and Health.Nutrition bulletin · 2026Review
- Association Between Ultra-processed Food Consumption and Mortality Among US Adults: Prospective Cohort Study of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003-2018Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · 2025Article
- Diet quality from early pregnancy through 1-y postpartum: a prospective cohort study.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2024Article
- Ultra-processed foods and food additives in gut health and disease.Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2024Review
- Article
- Toward a science-based classification of processed foods to support meaningful research and effective health policies.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Review
- Ultra-processed foods in public health nutrition: the unanswered questions.Public health nutrition · 2023Article
- Nutrient Density and Microbial Safety of Open-Air-Dried Beef Meat and Its Biochemical and Organ Histopathology Effects in Albino Rats: A Promising Ingredient for Complementary Food Formulation.International journal of food science · 2023Article
- Greater Ultra-Processed Food Intake during Pregnancy and Postpartum Is Associated with Multiple Aspects of Lower Diet Quality.Nutrients · 2022Article
- Nutrition research challenges for processed food and health.Nature food · 2022Review
- Application of a Platform for Gluten-Free Diet Evaluation and Dietary Advice: From Theory to Practice.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Ultra-processed food consumption and associations with biomarkers of nutrition and inflammation in pregnancy: The Norwegian Environmental Biobank.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Article
- The degree of food processing is associated with anthropometric measures of obesity in Canadian families with preschool-aged children.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo examine the effect of the consumption of ultraprocessed food on diet quality, and cardiometabolic risk (CMR) in an occupational cohort.
designCross-sectional.
settingOccupational cohort.
participants53 163 British police force employees enrolled (2004-2012) into the Airwave Health Monitoring Study. A total of 28 forces across the UK agreed to participate. 9009 participants with available 7-day diet record data and complete co-variate data are reported in this study.
main outcome measuresA CMR and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension score were treated as continuous variables and used to generate measures of cardiometabolic health and diet quality. Secondary outcome measures include percentage of energy from fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, protein and non-milk extrinsic sugars (NMES) and fibre grams per 1000 kcal of energy intake.
resultsIn this cohort, 58.3%±11.6 of total energy intake was derived from ultraprocessed (NOVA 4) foods. Ultraprocessed food intake was negatively correlated with diet quality (r=-0.32, p<0.001), fibre (r=-0.20, p<0.001) and protein (r = -0.40, p<0.001) and positively correlated with fat (r=0.18, p<0.001), saturated fat (r=0.14, p<0.001) and nmes (r=0.10, p<0.001) intake. Multivariable analysis suggests a positive association between ultraprocessed food (NOVA 4) consumption and CMR. However, this main effect was no longer observed after adjustment for diet quality (p=0.209). Findings from mediation analysis indicate that the effect of ultraprocessed food (NOVA 4) intake on CMR is mediated by diet quality (p<0.001).
conclusionsUltraprocessed food consumption is associated with a deterioration in diet quality and positively associated with CMR, although this association is mediated by and dependent on the quality of the diet. The negative impact of ultraprocessed food consumption on diet quality needs to be addressed and controlled studies are needed to fully comprehend whether the relationship between ultraprocessed food consumption and health is independent to its relationship with poor diet quality.
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