Ultra-processed foods and their influence on the dietary content of free sugars: a seven-country study

• Grant number: 15/25168-7
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2016
• Effective date (End): March 15, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Nutrition - Nutritional Analysis of Population
• Principal researcher: Carlos Augusto Monteiro
• Grantee: Maria Laura da Costa Louzada
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Saúde Pública (FSP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project studies the consumption of ultra-processed foods and its global influence on the dietary content of free sugars in countries with different levels of development. The study is coordinated by NUPENS/USP and counts with research teams in seven countries. It involves the analysis of individual food intake data collected by national probabilistic household surveys undertaken in Brazil (n=34,003 individuals aged 10 y and plus), Colombia (n=37,211, 0-64 y), Chile (n=4,920, e 2 y), United States (n=19,903, all ages), Canada (n=35,107, all ages), United Kingdom (n=6,828, all ages), and Australia (n=12,153 e 2 y). Food items will be classified as ultra-processed when they refer to industrial formulations made of substances extracted from foods or synthetized from food substrates or other organic sources, with no or little whole food - concept developed at NUPENS/USP and increasingly used in the international scientific literature, the development of national dietary guidelines and proposals of regulatory policies). In each country, the association between the consumption of ultra-processed foods (% of total energy) and the dietary content of free sugar and the percentage of diets with free sugars consumption above the recommendation will be evaluated. The results of the seven countries will be aggregated to obtain pooled effect estimates. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DA COSTA LOUZADA, MARIA LAURA; RICARDO, CAMILA ZANCHETA; STEELE, EURIDICE MARTINEZ; LEVY, RENATA BERTAZZI; CANNON, GEOFFREY; MONTEIRO, CARLOS AUGUSTO. The share of ultra-processed foods determines the overall nutritional quality of diets in Brazil. PUBLIC HEALTH NUTRITION, v. 21, n. 1, SI, p. 94-102, JAN 2018. Web of Science Citations: 47.

DA COSTA LOUZADA, MARIA LAURA; LEVY, RENATA BERTAZZI; BORTOLETTO MARTINS, ANA PAULA; CLARO, RAFAEL MOREIRA; STEELE, EURIDICE MARTINEZ; VERLY, JR., ELISEU; CAFIERO, CARLO; MONTEIRO, CARLOS AUGUSTO. Validating the usage of household food acquisition surveys to assess the consumption of ultra-processed foods: Evidence from Brazil. FOOD POLICY, v. 72, n. SI, p. 112-120, OCT 2017. Web of Science Citations: 4.