Table 2. Consumption of ultra-processed foods (% of total energy) and prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity according to characteristics of the UK population aged 19 years or over (NDNS, 2008–16).
| Distribution (%) | % of total energy intake from ultra-processed foods mean (SE) | Prevalence of, % (SE) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obesitya | Abdominal obesityb | |||
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 48.4 | 55.9 (0.6) | 25.6 (1.5) | 35.0 (1.6) |
| Female | 51.6 | 52.8* (0.4) | 27.1 (1.3) | 46.1* (1.5) |
| Age group | ||||
| 19 to 29 years | 18.7 | 59.2 (1.3) | 15.5 (2.4) | 19.2 (2.5) |
| 30 to 59 years | 51.0 | 54 (0.4) | 27.5 (1.4) | 40.1 (1.5) |
| ≥60 years | 30.3 | 51.8α (0.5) | 31.5α (1.8) | 55.3α (1.8) |
| Ethnicity | ||||
| White | 89.5 | 55.4 (0.4) | 26.7 (1.0) | 40.7 (1.2) |
| Non-white | 10.5 | 45.4* (1.2) | 23.4 (3.5) | 30.5* (3.7) |
| Region | ||||
| England North | 23.2 | 56.1 (0.7) | 29.4 (2.3) | 43.9 (2.3) |
| England Central/Midlands | 16.6 | 56.6 (1.0) | 31.6 (2.6) | 43.2 (2.9) |
| England South (including London) | 43.9 | 51.7* (0.6) | 21.9* (1.9) | 36.1* (1.6) |
| Scotland | 8.6 | 56.5 (1.1) | 27.9 (2.1) | 44.3 (3.9) |
| Wales | 4.9 | 55.0 (1.0) | 29.8 (2.4) | 46.8 (3.0) |
| Northern Ireland | 2.8 | 58.7* (0.8) | 29.1 (2.4) | 50.6 (3.2) |
| Social class occupation | ||||
| Routine & manual occupations | 36.3 | 57.3 (0.7) | 30.3 (1.8) | 44.5 (2.0) |
| Intermediate occupations | 19.1 | 53.4 (0.8) | 27.9 (2.3) | 39.5 (2.5) |
| Lower managerial & professional occupations | 26.0 | 53.8 (0.7) | 24.1 (1.9) | 36.0 (2.1) |
| Higher managerial & professional occupations | 18.7 | 50.3α (0.7) | 20.2α (2.1) | 36.6α (2.6) |
| Physical activity c | ||||
| First quartile | 22.1 | 55.5 (0.7) | 32.2 (2.3) | 52.2 (2.5) |
| Second quartile | 27.8 | 53.3 (0.8) | 26.7 (2.0) | 38.9 (2.1) |
| Third quartile | 25.9 | 53.5 (0.7) | 21.7 (1.8) | 34.8 (2.2) |
| Fourth quartile | 24.2 | 55.4 (0.7) | 25.7α (2.1) | 34.4α (2.2) |
| Smoking status | ||||
| Non-smoker | 78.9 | 53.3 (0.4) | 27.0 (1.1) | 40.6 (1.2) |
| Smoker | 21.1 | 58.3* (0.9) | 23.9 (2.4) | 36.1 (2.6) |
| Sleep duration | ||||
| <6 h/day | 33.1 | 54.7 (0.6) | 32.2 (1.8) | 45.6 (2.0) |
| 7–8 h/day | 35.7 | 53.9 (0.5) | 23.0 (1.6) | 35.0 (1.8) |
| >8 h/day | 31.2 | 54.4 (0.8) | 24.0* (1.8) | 38.8* (2.1) |
| Following a special diet | ||||
| No | 87.9 | 54.5 | 22.7 (1.0) | 37.8 (1.1) |
| Yes | 12.1 | 52.9 | 53.0 (3.2)* | 62.3 (3.2)* |
| Total | 100 | 54.3 (0.4) | 26.4 (1.0) | 40.7 (1.1) |
a Defined as Body Mass Index ≥30 kg/m2 (World Health Organization, 2003).
b Defined as waist circumference ≥102/88 cm for men and women, respectively (World Health Organization, 2008).
c Time spent at moderate or vigorous physical activity (h/d).
* p<0.05 (first category as reference)
α P<0.05 for linear trend across categories