Table 1. Sociodemographic Characteristics by Baseline Quintile of UPF Consumption Among 9025 ALSPAC Children (1998-2017), England.
| Characteristic | Study cohorta | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall (N = 9025) | Quintile of baseline UPF consumptionb | |||||
| 1 (n = 1708) | 2 (n = 1759) | 3 (n = 1923) | 4 (n = 1777) | 5 (n = 1858) | ||
| UPF consumption, mean (SD) [range], % | 44.7 (15.9) [0-100] | 23.2 (5.0) [0-29.9] | 34.7 (2.5) [30.0-38.9] | 43.4 (2.5) [39.0-47.9] | 52.7 (2.8) [48.0-57.9] | 67.8 (8.1) [58.0-100] |
| Total energy intake at baseline, mean (SD), kcal/d | 1729 (347) | 1698 (342) | 1753 (345) | 1737 (332) | 1731 (335) | 1726 (376) |
| Age at baseline, yc | ||||||
| 7 | 7264 (80.5) | 1327 (77.7) | 1435 (81.6) | 1584 (82.4) | 1460 (82.2) | 1458 (78.5) |
| 10 | 1519 (16.8) | 292 (17.1) | 270 (15.3) | 296 (15.4) | 297 (16.7) | 364 (19.6) |
| 13 | 242 (2.7) | 89 (5.2) | 54 (3.1) | 43 (2.2) | 20 (1.1) | 36 (1.9) |
| Sex | ||||||
| Male | 4544 (50.3) | 821 (48.1) | 884 (50.3) | 966 (50.2) | 927 (52.2) | 946 (50.9) |
| Female | 4481 (49.7) | 887 (51.9) | 875 (49.7) | 957 (49.8) | 850 (47.8) | 912 (49.1) |
| Race | ||||||
| Non-White | 780 (8.6) | 152 (8.9) | 165 (9.4) | 170 (8.8) | 157 (8.8) | 136 (7.3) |
| White | 8029 (90.0) | 1512 (88.5) | 1553 (88.3) | 1704 (88.6) | 1585 (89.2) | 1675 (90.2) |
| Missing | 216 (2.4) | 44 (2.6) | 41 (2.3) | 49 (2.5) | 35 (2.0) | 47 (2.5) |
| Birth weight, g | ||||||
| <2500 | 409 (4.5) | 67 (3.9) | 86 (4.9) | 88 (4.6) | 84 (4.7) | 84 (4.5) |
| 2500-3999 | 6905 (76.5) | 1339 (78.4) | 1337 (76.0) | 1450 (75.4) | 1385 (77.9) | 1394 (75.0) |
| ≥4000 | 1112 (12.3) | 201 (11.8) | 219 (12.5) | 235 (12.2) | 207 (11.6) | 250 (13.5) |
| Missing | 599 (6.6) | 101 (5.9) | 117 (6.7) | 150 (7.8) | 101 (5.7) | 130 (7.0) |
| MVPA, min | ||||||
| <60 | 4076 (45.2) | 821 (48.1) | 812 (46.2) | 840 (43.7) | 784 (44.1) | 819 (44.1) |
| ≥60 | 2453 (27.2) | 468 (27.4) | 476 (27.1) | 542 (28.2) | 481 (27.1) | 486 (26.2) |
| Missing | 2496 (27.7) | 419 (24.5) | 471 (26.8) | 541 (28.1) | 512 (28.8) | 553 (29.8) |
| Index of multiple deprivation 2004, quintile | ||||||
| 1 (Least deprived) | 2855 (31.6) | 537 (31.4) | 585 (33.3) | 629 (32.8) | 552 (31.1) | 552 (29.7) |
| 2 | 2113 (23.4) | 460 (26.9) | 413 (23.5) | 454 (23.6) | 404 (22.7) | 382 (20.6) |
| 3 | 1795 (19.9) | 339 (19.8) | 352 (20.0) | 401 (20.9) | 348 (19.6) | 355 (19.1) |
| 4 | 1198 (13.3) | 192 (11.2) | 217 (12.3) | 222 (11.5) | 267 (15.0) | 300 (16.1) |
| 5 (Most deprived) | 899 (10.0) | 142 (8.3) | 161 (9.2) | 180 (9.4) | 177 (10.0) | 239 (12.9) |
| Missing | 165 (1.8) | 38 (2.2) | 31 (1.8) | 37 (1.9) | 29 (1.6) | 30 (1.6) |
| Mother’s self-reported prepregnancy BMI | ||||||
| Underweight (<18.5) | 334 (3.7) | 74 (4.3) | 65 (3.7) | 68 (3.5) | 54 (3.0) | 73 (3.9) |
| Normal (18.5-24.9) | 5752 (63.7) | 1153 (67.5) | 1171 (66.6) | 1203 (62.6) | 1159 (65.2) | 1066 (57.4) |
| Overweight (25.0-29.9) | 1150 (12.7) | 177 (10.4) | 200 (11.4) | 255 (13.3) | 223 (12.5) | 295 (15.9) |
| Obese (≥30.0) | 393 (4.4) | 48 (2.8) | 63 (3.6) | 88 (4.6) | 88 (5.0) | 106 (5.7) |
| Missing | 1396 (15.5) | 256 (15.0) | 260 (14.8) | 309 (16.1) | 253 (14.2) | 318 (17.1) |
| Mother’s marital status | ||||||
| Single | 1625 (18.0) | 298 (17.4) | 298 (16.9) | 313 (16.3) | 353 (19.9) | 363 (19.5) |
| Married/living with partner | 7203 (79.8) | 1374 (80.4) | 1423 (80.9) | 1561 (81.2) | 1393 (78.4) | 1452 (78.1) |
| Missing | 197 (2.2) | 36 (2.1) | 38 (2.2) | 49 (2.5) | 31 (1.7) | 43 (2.3) |
| Mother’s highest educational attainment | ||||||
| CSE/none | 738 (8.2) | 99 (5.8) | 110 (6.3) | 167 (8.7) | 148 (8.3) | 214 (11.5) |
| Vocational | 662 (7.3) | 92 (5.4) | 123 (7.0) | 119 (6.2) | 144 (8.1) | 184 (9.9) |
| O level | 3189 (35.3) | 468 (27.4) | 560 (31.8) | 700 (36.4) | 696 (39.2) | 765 (41.2) |
| A level | 2421 (26.8) | 497 (29.1) | 529 (30.1) | 497 (25.8) | 470 (26.4) | 428 (23.0) |
| Degree | 1569 (17.4) | 462 (27.0) | 362 (20.6) | 340 (17.7) | 236 (13.3) | 169 (9.1) |
| Missing | 446 (4.9) | 90 (5.3) | 75 (4.3) | 100 (5.2) | 83 (4.7) | 98 (5.3) |
| Mother’s NSSEC | ||||||
| Higher managerial, administrative, and professional | 2822 (31.3) | 667 (39.1) | 624 (35.5) | 607 (31.6) | 487 (27.4) | 437 (23.5) |
| Intermediate occupations | 2716 (30.1) | 446 (26.1) | 503 (28.6) | 564 (29.3) | 580 (32.6) | 623 (33.5) |
| Routine and manual occupations | 2598 (28.8) | 418 (24.5) | 479 (27.2) | 557 (29.0) | 544 (30.6) | 600 (32.3) |
| Missing | 889 (9.9) | 177 (10.4) | 153 (8.7) | 195 (10.1) | 166 (9.3) | 198 (10.7) |
Abbreviations: ALSPAC, Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children; BMI, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in square meters); CSE, Certificate of Secondary Education; MVPA, moderate to vigorous physical activity; NSSEC, National Statistics Socioeconomic Classification; UPF, ultraprocessed food.
Unless otherwise indicated, data are expressed as No. (%) of children. Percentages are rounded and may not total 100.
Quintile of UPF consumption was first computed for dietary data at 7, 10, and 13 years of age separately and was similar across waves; thus, a set of cutoff points for the baseline quintiles of UPF consumption was derived based on data from 7 years of age and defined at 30%, 39%, 48%, and 58% of daily food intake. Quintiles 1 and 5 indicate the lowest and highest UPF consumption, respectively.
Age when baseline UPF consumption was collected; >80% of children were followed up from 7 years of age.