. 2021 Oct 12;152(1):200–210. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxab318

TABLE 3.

Characteristics of participants according to quartiles of processed and ultra-processed food intake in the Singapore Multi-Ethnic Cohort 2 (N = 7011)¹

	Quartiles of processed and ultra-processed food intake
Characteristic	Low: 51.8% (n = 1752)	Medium: 67.4% (n = 1753)	High: 76.0% (n = 1753)	Very high: 85.9% (n = 1753)	P-trend
Age, y	54.1 ± 12.4^a	50.7 ± 12.8^b	47.6 ± 12.8^c	46.9 ± 12.6^c	<0.001
Sex, %
Men	21.8	24.8	24.7	28.7	<0.001
Women	27.5	25.2	25.2	22.0
Ethnic group, %
Chinese	27.2	25.4	24.5	22.9	<0.001
Malay	19.3	21.7	27.4	31.6
Indian	20.1	26.9	25.3	27.7
Others	18.2	20.1	27.5	34.2
Height, m	1.61 ± 0.09^d	1.62 ± 0.09^c	1.63 ± 0.09^b	1.64 ± 0.09^a	<0.001
Body weight, kg	63.1 ± 13.1^d	65.0 ± 13.2^c	67.0 ± 14.8^b	68.5 ± 14.8^a	<0.001
BMI, kg/m²	24.3 ± 4.49^c	24.6 ± 4.36^c	25.1 ± 4.78^b	25.4 ± 4.85^a	<0.001
Dietary energy intake, kcal/d	1900 ± 799^d	2270 ± 869^c	2540 ± 972^b	2760 ± 1150^a	<0.001
Protein intake, g/d	74.1 ± 36.1^d	89.3 ± 39.8^c	99.4 ± 43.0^b	104 ± 47.7^a	<0.001
Fat intake, g/d	70.7 ± 40.2^d	89.5 ± 40.7^c	104 ± 45.9^b	115 ± 53.4^a	<0.001
Carbohydrate intake, g/d	241 ± 100^d	276 ± 104^c	301 ± 114^b	325 ± 136^a	<0.001
Sugar intake, g/d	64.1 ± 34.8^d	77.4 ± 36.5^c	86.5 ± 39.3^b	102.7 ± 50.4^a	<0.001
Dietary fiber intake, g/d	18.9 ± 9.59^c	20.2 ± 8.79^b	21.3 ± 8.56^a	21.6 ± 9.74^a	<0.001
Sodium intake, mg/d	2510 ± 1270^d	3230 ± 1430^c	3780 ± 1630^b	4140 ± 1950^a	<0.001
Total amount consumed, g/d	1980 ± 779^d	2230 ± 820^c	2370 ± 865^b	2500 ± 1010^a	<0.001
Amount consumed, g/d
Sweet–fatty foods	99.0 ± 116^d	148 ± 149^c	174 ± 161^b	218 ± 203^a	<0.001
Savory–fatty foods	598 ± 325^d	815 ± 376^c	982 ± 448^b	1090 ± 566^a	<0.001
Sweet–sour foods	246 ± 215^c	267 ± 217^b	280 ± 218^b	312 ± 305^a	<0.001
Neutral foods	806 ± 385^a	713 ± 317^b	630 ± 261^c	503 ± 286^d	<0.001
Bitter foods	232 ± 218^d	286 ± 241^c	305 ± 274^b	376 ± 316^a	<0.001
Amount consumed, % energy
Sweet–fatty foods	4.82 ± 4.66^d	6.65 ± 4.99^c	7.75 ± 5.48^b	9.12 ± 6.50^a	<0.001
Savory–fatty foods	44.9 ± 13.0^d	52.3 ± 10.8^c	56.9 ± 10.7^b	59.2 ± 12.4^a	<0.001
Sweet–sour foods	7.93 ± 5.69^a	6.63 ± 4.35^b	5.94 ± 3.73^c	6.06 ± 4.14^c	<0.001
Neutral foods	39.7 ± 13.0^a	31.3 ± 9.49^b	26.1 ± 8.40^c	21.0 ± 8.95^d	<0.001
Bitter foods	2.70 ± 3.19^c	3.14 ± 3.40^b	3.27 ± 3.81^b	4.59 ± 5.14^a	<0.001
Total physical activity, MET-min/wk	1110 ± 1030^c	1140 ± 986^c	1180 ± 1010^b	1290 ± 1110^a	<0.001

Unadjusted data. Labeled means in a row without a common letter differ at P < 0.05. Values are presented as mean ± SD unless otherwise indicated. MET, metabolic equivalent task units.