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Review
. 2022 Sep;11(3):80-92.
doi: 10.1007/s13679-021-00460-y. Epub 2021 Oct 22.

Ultra-processed Foods, Weight Gain, and Co-morbidity Risk

Anthony Crimarco #  1 , Matthew J Landry #  1 , Christopher D Gardner  2
Affiliations
Review

Ultra-processed Foods, Weight Gain, and Co-morbidity Risk

Anthony Crimarco et al. Curr Obes Rep. 2022 Sep.

Abstract

Purpose of review: The purpose of this review is to provide an update on the available data regarding the associations of Ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption with food intake and possible underlying mechanisms relating UPF consumption to weight gain and co-morbidities.

Recent findings: In primarily observational studies, UPF consumption is consistently associated with an increased risk for weight gain among adults and children and increased risk for adiposity-related co-morbidities in adults. In a single mechanistic study, consumption of UPFs led to increased energy intake and weight gain relative to whole foods. UPFs tend to be more energy-dense than nutrient-dense, and UPF consumption is associated with increased adiposity and co-morbidity risk. These data suggest that recommendations to limit UPF consumption may be beneficial to health - though further mechanistic studies are needed.

Keywords: Chronic disease; NOVA; Ultra-processed foods; Weight gain; Weight management.

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Conflict of interest statement

Gardner received a gift funding from Beyond Meat which was used to conduct a research study.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Spectrum of processing of foods based on the NOVA classification. The figure provides examples of foods and types of processing methods within each NOVA classification group. Definitions are adapted from Monteiro et al. (2018) [8]
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Comparison of select countries totally energy intake from UPFs and obesity rates. Colombia and New Zealand were not included in the graphs, since those studies were based on children only. The obesity rates are based on 2016 data by the World Health Organization (WHO) [41]. Therefore, the rates are not necessarily equivalent to the dietary data from the selected articles
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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