Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39327455›Full record

ReviewEuropean journal of clinical nutrition2025

Ultra-processed foods and health: are we correctly interpreting the available evidence?

Francesco Visioli, Daniele Del Rio, Vincenzo Fogliano, Franca Marangoni, Cristian Ricci, Andrea Poli

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in European journal of clinical nutrition, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Observational
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Reply to Vella and Pai.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2025
    Article
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Francesco VisioliDepartment of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy. francesco.visioli@unipd.it.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1756-1723
Daniele Del RioDepartment of Food and Drugs, Human Nutrition Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5394-1259
Vincenzo FoglianoFood Quality and Design Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Franca MarangoniNutrition Foundation of Italy, Milan, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3590-2330
Cristian RicciAfrica Unit for Transdisciplinary Health Research AUTHeR, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4113-8682
Andrea PoliNutrition Foundation of Italy, Milan, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Several studies have linked adverse health effects to the consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) according to the NOVA classification. However, whether the consumption of UPF is the actual causal factor for such health outcomes is still unknown. Indeed, different groups of UPF examined in the same epidemiologic study often show markedly different associations with the occurrence of the health endpoints. In this Comment, we discuss some such studies and point out that the available evidence on how different UPFs have been associated with health, as well as the results of studies examining specific food additives, call into question the possibility that ultra-processing per se is the real culprit. It is possible that other unaccounted for confounding factors play an important role. Future, urgently needed studies will clarify this issue.

Indexed as

DietFast FoodsFood HandlingFood AdditivesFood, ProcessedHumansFood Additives

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.