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New research published in American Journal of Preventive Medicine showed that consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) caused premature death in Brazil. Therefore, discouraging consumption of ultra-processed foods may promote substantial health gains in this population and may also help reduce early mortality.
Background
The Global Burden of Disease estimates that inadequate diet and malnutrition cost an estimated 188 million disability-adjusted life spans and nearly 8 million lives.
The consumption of processed foods is increasing globally, especially in developing and developed countries. Food processing improves availability, transportability, shelf life, and digestibility. These foods have high energy density and low nutritional value.
Processed foods are classified as ultra-processed foods (UPF). An extreme category is derivatives from other foods (rare, if any, natural foods) with added colors, flavors and emulsifiers. These additives make food delicious, affordable, and convenient.
UPF is rich in salts, fats and sugars and can become contaminated during biological, physical and chemical processing during food preparation with additives and packaging materials.
Dietary inadequate intake is a major cause of global economic and health burden. Recent studies have shown that UPF consumption increases the risk of developing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even cancer. This is due to the low nutritional value of such foods, the high glycemic load of such foods, the low potential for satiety, the high amount of additives and the presence of contaminants. .
However, studies delineating the effects of increased consumption of ultra-processed foods are still lacking. One study found that the contribution of ultra-processed foods to total energy intake in Brazil increased by 5.1% within 16 years.
the study
This recent study estimates the incidence of premature death in Brazil from consumption of ultra-processed foods. A macro-simulation model for comparative risk assessment was developed to estimate the number and proportion of premature deaths from any cause. These mortality rates can be prevented by reducing the UPF contribution to overall energy intake to a minimal risk level (in theory, no UPF intake) and reducing the UPF contribution to various counterfactual consumption scenarios. .
This approach consisted of three phases, in which baseline UPF intake was estimated by age group and sex using the Brazilian Dietary Survey (POF-National Household Budget Survey 2017-18) and scaled according to patient gender. A reduction in UPF intake was estimated in all counterfacial scenarios. and using age-stratified and comparative risk assessment analyses, to estimate the effects of reduced intake of UPF.
Brazilian adults were divided into eight age groups based on gender. Beverage and food consumption were collected through her two episodes of her 24-hour memory of food intake from the personal food intake module of POF 2017-18. All beverages and foods were classified into her four categories according to the NOVA classification. The percentage of ultra-processed foods relative to total energy intake was analyzed.
result
It was observed that UPF consumption habits decreased with age. On average, UPF accounted for at least 13% of total energy intake across all age groups. In 2019, there were 541,160 premature deaths between the ages of 30 and 69, of which 261,061 were due to preventable non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
In contrast, 62% of the deaths were male. That same year, nearly 57,000 deaths were attributed to his UPF consumption.
Adults aged 50-69 had the highest mortality rates, 66% for men and 73% for women. Population attributable fractions (PAFs) were relatively high for young people and young adults for both sexes.
Reducing the UPF share of total energy consumption by 50%, 20%, and 10% was predicted to postpone or prevent up to 29,300, 12,000, and 5,900 premature deaths per year, respectively. In fact, about 19,900 deaths could be avoided if UPF consumption were reduced to less than a quarter of the baseline contribution of UPF to total energy intake. This he will be male out of 60%.
The authors also noted that multiple interventions and public health awareness programs and programs can be implemented to reduce UPF consumption. Promoting a healthy food environment, including regulating food marketing and implementing nutrition labeling, is key to discouraging UPF consumption.
Conclusion
The findings may predict the impact of processed food consumption on preventable mortality. Regulatory policies to limit UPF consumption should be implemented, as well as public awareness of the side effects of processed foods and dietary guidelines should be implemented.
Given the numerous health effects of ultra-processed foods, a disease-specific approach cannot identify the total disease burden of the UPF. Further research is needed to investigate the impact of UPFs on public health so that appropriate food guidelines can be rigorously enforced.
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