AUTHOR=Louzada Maria Laura , Steele Eurídice Martinez , Rezende Leandro F. M. , Levy Renata Bertazzi , Monteiro Carlos Augusto 

TITLE=Changes in Obesity Prevalence Attributable to Ultra-Processed Food Consumption in Brazil Between 2002 and 2009

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=67

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2022.1604103

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2022.1604103

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objectives:</bold> To quantify the impact of temporal changes in the consumption of ultra-processed foods on obesity trends in Brazil between 2002 and 2009.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> We analyzed data from two Household Budget Surveys carried out in 2002/2003 (<italic>n</italic> = 182,333) and 2008/2009 (<italic>n</italic> = 190,159), which provided information on household food acquisition and individuals’ weight and height. We examined the association between ultra-processed foods consumption and obesity and quantified the fraction of increase in obesity prevalence attributable to the rise in the consumption of ultra-processed foods.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> From 2002 to 2009, there was an increase in the obesity prevalence from 9.9% (95% CI 9.3; 10.4) to 13.2% (12.8; 13.7) while the contribution of ultra-processed foods to total energy consumption raised from 14.3% (13.4; 15.1) to 17.3% (16.5; 18.1). Ultra-processed foods consumption was positively associated with obesity prevalence. More than one quarter (28.6%) of the increase in obesity prevalence was attributable to the rise in the consumption of ultra-processed foods in the period.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> We found that the rise in the consumption of ultra-processed foods played a major role on the increase of obesity epidemic in Brazil.</p>