Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42561295›Full record

ArticleCadernos de saude publica2026

Ultra-processed food consumption and body mass index from adolescence to early adulthood: multi-trajectory analysis using data from the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort.

Michele Krüger Vaz Moreira, Adriana Kramer Fiala Machado, Ana Maria Baptista Menezes, Helen Gonçalves, Fernando C Wehrmeister

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cadernos de saude publica, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Michele Krüger Vaz MoreiraUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande, Pelotas, Brasil.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0691-4669
Adriana Kramer Fiala MachadoUniversidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, Brasil.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6800-1064
Ana Maria Baptista MenezesUniversidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, Brasil.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2996-9427
Helen GonçalvesUniversidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, Brasil.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6470-3352
Fernando C WehrmeisterUniversidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, Brasil.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7137-1747

Funding

Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Given the evidence linking ultra-processed food consumption to adverse health outcomes and the lack of longitudinal studies jointly addressing ultra-processed food consumption and body mass index (BMI), this study identified multi-trajectory groups from adolescence to early adulthood and described their demographic and behavioral characteristics. Data from the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort at ages 15, 18, and 22 (n = 2,890) were analyzed. Sex-stratified multi-trajectory groups of daily ultra-processed food consumption and BMI (z-scores for age and sex) were estimated using Group-Based Trajectory Modelling. Daily ultra-processed food consumption was defined as the number of ultra-processed food items consumed at least once per day. Sixteen NOVA-classified foods were grouped into six categories. Groups were described according to ultra-processed food types, poverty level, physical activity, screen time, smoking, alcohol use, and risk behaviors. Three multi-trajectory groups were identified: two with low ultra-processed food (group 1 and group 2) and one with increasing ultra-processed food intake (group 3). In group 1 (38.7% males; 34% females), BMI increased over time, while in group 2 (39.4% males; 44.5% females) it remained stable. In group 3 (21.9% males; 21.5% females), ultra-processed food consumption increased over time, particularly fast food, soft drinks, and processed meats, while BMI z-scores remained close to zero in males and increased in females. Risk behaviors increased over time in group 3, whereas poverty was less prevalent in group 1. Individuals in group 3 generally exhibited higher ultra-processed food intake and a greater prevalence of risk behaviors across follow-ups, despite BMI remaining within the normal range. Monitoring ultra-processed food consumption may help identify at-risk groups before excess weight becomes evident during adolescence and early adulthood.

Indexed as

Body Mass IndexFast FoodsFeeding BehaviorAdolescentBirth CohortBrazilCohort StudiesFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleSocioeconomic FactorsYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID42561295
PMCPMC13431993

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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.