Longitudinal associations of physical activity, ultraprocessed food consumption and non-communicable diseases.

• Grant number: 23/18226-7
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Visiting Researcher Grant - International
• Start date: June 01, 2024
• End date: May 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Nutrition - Nutritional Analysis of Population
• Principal Investigator: Carlos Augusto Monteiro
• Grantee: Carlos Augusto Monteiro
• Visiting researcher: Pedro Rodrigues Curi Hallal
• Visiting researcher institution: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Saúde Pública (FSP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/05636-0 - Program of population studies on the consumption of ultraprocessed foods and health, AP.TEM

Abstract

Through this project, USP plans to host Prof. Pedro Hallal as a Visiting Researcher for 12 months. Dr. Hallal is a renowned researcher in the use of longitudinal analyses to explore the long-term effect of physical activity on health outcomes. Prof. Hallal will work with USP researchers in two thematic projects: The NutriNet Brasil Cohort and the ISA - Physical Activity Cohort. Over 70% of all deaths in Brazil are due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). A group of modifiable risk factors, including physical inactivity and the consumption of ultra-processed foods, increases the risk of NCDs. The analysis of the association between such behavioral exposures and health outcomes requires longitudinal approaches. However, most prospective evidence on the long-term effects of physical inactivity and consumption of ultra-processed foods on health outcomes is derived from high-income countries. In order to help fill this gap, FAPESP currently funds the "Program of Population Studies on the Consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods", which includes the NutriNet Brasil Cohort, aimed to follow up over 100,000 participants to evaluate the association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and incidence of NCDs. The NutriNet Brasil Cohort also collects physical activity levels of participants. Also, in the NCDs and risk factors arena, FAPESP also funds the thematic project "Built Environment, Physical Activity and Nutritional Status: A Longitudinal Study". Physical inactivity and the consumption of ultra-processed food share mechanisms that might connect them to depressive symptoms, including neuroplasticity, inflammation, and oxidative stress, in addition to being associated with one another. Therefore, the co-occurrence of physical inactivity and consumption of ultra-processed foods might reduce the threshold for these exposures to increase the risk of depressive symptoms. Using his long-term experience in longitudinal analyses, Prof. Hallal will help explore the joint association between these two exposures and the incidence of depressive symptoms in the NutriNet Brasil Cohort. The analytical models to be used to operationalize the physical activity and diet variables might be used in the future for further analysis of the NutriNet Brasil Cohort. In the ISA Cohort, Prof. Hallal will work with USP researchers in three aims: (a) to evaluate physical activity and obesity trajectories using data from the three waves of data collection in the project: 2014/2015, 2020/2021 e 2023/2024; (b) to explore the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations among physical inactivity, obesity, built and perceived environments; (c) to analyze the association of trajectories of physical activity and obesity with health outcomes, with emphasis on the effect of urban mobility on adult health. Prof. Hallal will also teach a Summer Course at the School of Public Health, co-teach one of the courses of USP's graduate school, co-supervise Master and PhD students, and take part in Thesis and Dissertation Committees. (AU)