Abstract 9251: Associations Between Ultra- or Minimally-Processed Food Intake and Three Adiposity Indicators Among US Adults: Nhanes 2011-16

Abstract

Objectives: Ultra-processed food (UPF) intake is associated with BMI, but effects on regional adipose depots or related to minimally-processed food (MPF) intake are unknown. We examined associations between calories consumed (%kcal) from UPF or MPF and three adiposity indicators: supine sagittal abdominal diameter/height ratio (SADHtR, estimates visceral adiposity), waist circumference/height ratio (WHtR, estimates abdominal adiposity), and BMI. Methods: Cross-sectional data came from 12 297 adults aged ≥20 years in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2016. NOVA classification identified UPF and MPF dietary items using 24-hr dietary recall, and usual %kcal from UPF and MPF were estimated by National Cancer Institute methods. Each adiposity indicator was scaled to its sex-specific tertile distribution. We evaluated the associations between %kcal from UPFs and MPFs and each adiposity indicator using multivariable linear and multinomial logistic regression models. Results: The multivariable-adjusted, standardized β-coefficients per 10% increase in UPF intake were 0.0926, 0.0846, and 0.0791 for SADHtR, WHtR, and BMI respectively (all P<0.001; P>0.26 for pairwise differences). For MPF intake the β-coefficients were -0.0901, -0.0806 and -0.0688 (all P<0.001; P>0.18 for pairwise differences). The adjusted odds ratios (95% CI) for adiposity tertile 3 vs . tertile 1 (comparing UPF intake quartiles 2, 3 and 4 to quartile 1) were 1.33 (1.22-1.45), 1.67 (1.43-1.95), and 2.24 (1.76-2.86), respectively, for SADHtR; 1.31 (1.19-1.44), 1.62 (1.37-1.91), and 2.13 (1.63-2.78) for WHtR; and 1.27 (1.16-1.39), 1.53 (1.31-1.79), and 1.96 (1.53-2.51) for BMI. MPF intake showed inverse associations with all three adiposity indicators with similar trends in association strength. Neither UPF nor MPF models had interactions by sex or age groups. Conclusions: Among US adults, the indicators of abdominal and visceral adiposity were positively associated with UPF intake and inversely associated with MPF intake. These findings support public programs to discourage consumption of UPFs and to encourage MPF consumption.