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. 2024 Dec 23;21(1):111.
doi: 10.1186/s12986-024-00886-w.

Ultra-processed food intake in relation to metabolic health status in Iranian adolescents with overweight and obesity

Sana Farzam  1 , Donya Poursalehi  2   1 , Saeideh Mirzaei  3 , Ali Asadi  4 , Masoumeh Akhlaghi  3 , Parvane Saneei  5   6
Affiliations

Ultra-processed food intake in relation to metabolic health status in Iranian adolescents with overweight and obesity

Sana Farzam et al. Nutr Metab (Lond). .

Abstract

Background: Many studies have explored the association between food intake and metabolic health. However, research on the association of consuming ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and metabolic health in children and adolescents remains unclear. The objective of our study was to investigate the relation between UPFs consumption and metabolic health status in Iranian adolescents with overweight/obesity.

Methods: For this cross-sectional study, we selected a sample of 203 adolescents (101 boys and 102 girls) with a mean age of 13.98 ± 1.61 who were chosen using a multistage cluster random sampling method. We collected data on their dietary patterns using a validated 147-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Additionally, we measured anthropometric indices, blood pressure, fasting glucose, insulin, and lipid profiles. Participants were categorized to either metabolically healthy or unhealthy overweight/obesity (MHO and MUO) based on the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and IDF/ Homeostasis Model Assessment Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) criteria.

Results: Our findings revealed that every 10 g/d increase in UPFs consumption was related to an elevated odds of MUO as defined by the IDF (OR = 1.14; 95%CI: 1.08-1.19) and IDF/HOMA-IR (OR = 1.14; 95%CI; 1.08-1.19) criteria, after controlling all confounders. The severity of this association varied among girls and boys and also among those with overweight and obesity according to the applied definitions. Moreover, each 10 g/d increase in daily UPFs intake was associated with increased odds of metabolic factors including hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, hypo-HDL-cholesterolemia, hypertension, and high insulin resistance levels.

Conclusion: These findings highlighted a direct association between higher UPFs consumption and MUO status among adolescents.

Keywords: Adolescents; Metabolic health status; Obesity; Overweight; Ultra-processed foods.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical approval and consent to participate: The study procedure was performed according to declaration of Helsinki and STROBE checklist. All participants provided informed written consent. The study protocol was approved by the local Ethics Committee of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) indicating the variables insert in the final model. BMI: Body Mass Index; MUO: Metabolically Unhealthy Overweight/Obesity; SES: Socioeconomic Status; UPFs: Ultraprocessed Foods
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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