Table 2.
Associations of Ultraprocessed Food Consumption with Body Composition Among US Adults Aged 20 -59 Years, NHANES 2011-2018 (N=9,640). *
| Body composition measures | Differences across Quintiles of UPF Consumption (%E) | Mean Values across Quintiles of UPF Consumption (%E) | P for trend | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 (<39.4) | Q2 (39.4-51.1) | Q3 (51.1-61.2) | Q4 (61.2-72.1) | Q5 (>72.1) | Q1 (<39.4) | Q2 (39.4-51.1) | Q3 (51.1-61.2) | Q4 (61.2-72.1) | Q5 (>72.1) | ||
| Primary outcomes | |||||||||||
| Total body %fat | 0.0 (Ref) | 0.47 (−0.15, 1.09) | 1.21 (0.69, 1.74) | 1.42 (0.78, 2.06) | 1.60 (0.94, 2.26) | 31.7 (31.2-32.2) | 32.1 (31.6-32.6) | 32.9 (32.5-33.3) | 33.1 (32.6-33.6) | 33.3 (32.8-33.8) | <0.001 |
| Android %fat | 0.0 (Ref) | 0.32 (−0.45, 1.09) | 1.57 (0.90, 2.24) | 1.83 (1.07, 2.59) | 2.08 (1.26, 2.89) | 33.6 (33-34.2) | 33.9 (33.3-34.6) | 35.2 (34.7-35.7) | 35.4 (34.8-36.0) | 35.7 (35.1-36.3) | <0.001 |
| Gynoid %fat | 0.0 (Ref) | 0.64 (0.08, 1.21) | 1.14 (0.67, 1.60) | 1.25 (0.69, 1.80) | 1.32 (0.71, 1.93) | 34.3 (33.9-34.7) | 34.9 (34.5-35.4) | 35.4 (35.1-35.8) | 35.6 (35.1-36.0) | 35.6 (35.1-36.1) | <0.001 |
| Secondary outcomes | |||||||||||
| Head %fat | 0.0 (Ref) | 0.005 (−0.06, 0.07) | 0.05 (−0.005, 0.10) | 0.09 (0.02, 0.15) | 0.10 (0.04, 0.15) | 24.0 (24-24.1) | 24.0 (24-24.1) | 24.1 (24-24.1) | 24.1 (24.1-24.2) | 24.1 (24.1-24.2) | <0.001 |
| Arm %fat | 0.0 (Ref) | 0.51 (−0.22, 1.25) | 1.25 (0.61, 1.90) | 1.29 (0.47, 2.11) | 1.73 (0.93, 2.52) | 32.4 (31.8-32.9) | 32.9 (32.3-33.5) | 33.6 (33.1-34.1) | 33.7 (33.0-34.3) | 34.1 (33.5-34.7) | <0.001 |
| Leg %fat | 0.0 (Ref) | 0.61 (−0.08, 1.30) | 1.13 (0.58, 1.68) | 1.36 (0.71, 2.0) | 1.32 (0.61, 2.03) | 34 (33.5-34.5) | 34.6 (34.1-35.1) | 35.1 (34.6-35.6) | 35.3 (34.8-35.9) | 35.3 (34.8-35.8) | <0.001 |
| Trunk %fat | 0.0 (Ref) | 0.39 (−0.31, 1.09) | 1.35 (0.74, 1.96) | 1.63 (0.93, 2.33) | 1.87 (1.14, 2.59) | 30.6 (30-31.2) | 31 (30.4-31.6) | 32.0 (31.5-32.4) | 32.2 (31.7-32.8) | 32.5 (31.9-33) | <0.001 |
| Total abdominal fat area (cm2) | 0.0 (Ref) | 13.6 (−4.0, 31.2) | 37.3 (21.0, 53.6) | 47.4 (30.9, 63.8) | 53.7 (35.7, 71.6) | 402 (390-415) | 416 (401-430) | 440 (427-452) | 450 (436-463) | 456 (441-471) | <0.001 |
| Total abdominal fat mass (gm) | 0.0 (Ref) | 65.5 (−19.0, 150) | 180 (101, 259) | 228 (149, 308) | 259 (172, 345) | 1939 (1879-1999) | 2005 (1934-2076) | 2119 (2059-2179) | 2168 (2101-2234) | 2198 (2127-2269) | <0.001 |
| Total abdominal fat volume (cm3) | 0.0 (Ref) | 70.9 (−21.0, 162) | 194 (109, 280) | 247 (161, 333) | 280 (186, 373) | 2097 (2032-2161) | 2167 (2091-2244) | 2291 (2226-2356) | 2344 (2271-2416) | 2376 (2300-2453) | <0.001 |
| SAT area (cm2) | 0.0 (Ref) | 12.3 (−1.70, 26.2) | 29.0 (16.5, 41.5) | 38.4 (24.9, 51.8) | 43.9 (29.7, 58) | 306 (296-315) | 318 (307-330) | 335 (325-344) | 344 (333-356) | 350 (338-361) | <0.001 |
| SAT mass (gm) | 0.0 (Ref) | 59.1 (−8.30, 127) | 140 (79.7, 200) | 185 (120, 250) | 212 (143, 280) | 1474 (1429-1520) | 1533 (1478-1589) | 1614 (1568-1661) | 1659 (1605-1714) | 1686 (1631-1741) | <0.001 |
| SAT volume (cm3) | 0.0 (Ref) | 63.9 (−9.0, 137) | 151 (86.1, 216) | 200 (130, 270) | 229 (155, 302) | 1594 (1545-1643) | 1658 (1598-1717) | 1745 (1695-1795) | 1794 (1735-1853) | 1823 (1763-1882) | <0.001 |
| VAT area (cm2) | 0.0 (Ref) | 1.34 (−3.10, 5.8) | 8.28 (3.91, 12.7) | 9.01 (4.73, 13.3) | 9.77 (5.14, 14.4) | 96.5 (92.8-100) | 97.8 (93.9-102) | 105 (101-108) | 105 (102-109) | 106 (102-110) | <0.001 |
| VAT mass (gm) | 0.0 (Ref) | 6.45 (−15.0, 27.9) | 39.9 (18.9, 61) | 43.4 (22.8, 64.1) | 47.1 (24.8, 69.4) | 465 (448-483) | 472 (453-491) | 505 (487-523) | 509 (491-526) | 512 (493-531) | <0.001 |
| VAT volume (cm3) | 0.0 (Ref) | 6.97 (−16.0, 30.2) | 43.2 (20.4, 66) | 47 (24.7, 69.3) | 50.9 (26.8, 75.1) | 503 (484-522) | 510 (489-530) | 546 (527-565) | 550 (531-569) | 554 (533-574) | <0.001 |
Abbreviation: NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; %fat, percent fat; SAT, subcutaneous adipose tissue; UPF, ultra-processed foods; VAT, visceral adipose tissue.
Values are multivariable-adjusted differences compared to the lowest quintile as the reference (left columns) or multivariable-adjusted mean values in each quintile (right columns). Analyses were weighted to be nationally representative and adjusted for age (years), sex (male, female), race/ethnicity (non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and others), education (less than high school, high school graduate or GED, some college, or college graduate or above), and the ratio of family income to poverty (<1.30, 1.30–1.849, 1.85–2.99, and ≥3.0), smoking status (never smoker, former smoker, and smokers smoking for some days and smokers smoking daily less than 20 cigarettes per day and equal or larger than 20 cigarettes per day), and physical activity (METs-Min). Individuals with missing data on education (n=2), income (n=727), physical activity (n=1), and smoking (n=9) were created as a special category.
Abbreviations: SAT, subcutaneous adipose tissue; VAT, visceral adipose tissue.