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. 2022 Apr 26;115(6):1646–1657. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqac053

TABLE 2.

Food groups contributing to UPF consumption and other nutritional factors in the RTR population overall and according to sex-specific tertiles of UPFs1

Sex-specific tertiles
UPFs Overall RTRs (n = 632) T1 (n = 210) T2 (n = 211) T3 (n = 211) P value
Total energy intake, kcal/d 2172.7 ± 638.3 2033.3 ± 578.7 2203.5 ± 593.3 2280.6 ± 711.9 <0.001
 Weight proportion UPFs, % g/d
  Men 29.7 ± 11.8 18.1 ± 3.9 28.1 ± 3.2 43.1 ± 8.8 <0.001
  Women 26.2 ± 9.9 16.3 ± 3.6 25.1 ± 2.4 37.2 ± 7.5 <0.001
 Energy proportion UPFs, % kcal/d
  Men 33.9 ± 14.1 22.4 ± 5.6 31.8 ± 7.1 47.4 ± 14.1 <0.001
  Women 32.9 ± 13.1 22.7 ± 6.0 31.1 ± 6.6 45.0 ± 13.6 <0.001
NOVA classification
 Unprocessed or minimally processed foods, g/d 1454.9 ± 471.2 1733.0 ± 469.5 1467.4 ± 368.0 1165.0 ± 387.4 <0.001
  Percentage of total food intake 57%
 Processed culinary ingredients, g/d 26.3 ± 26.7 26.8 ± 26.4 24.9 ± 26.1 27.3 ± 27.7 0.62
  Percentage of total food intake 1%
 Processed foods, g/d 365.7 ± 239.8 411.1 ± 256.0 363.8 ± 235.3 322.4 ± 219.8 0.001
  Percentage of total food intake 14%
 UPFs, g/d 721.2 ± 341.1 453.0 ± 151.5 679.7 ± 193.3 1029.7 ± 346.8 <0.001
  Percentage of total food intake 28%
  Sugar-sweetened beverages 163.3 [53.6–326.1] 42.9 [8.3–123.1] 153.6 [85.7–294.0] 406.7 [258.4–630.9] <0.001
  Starchy foods, breakfast cereals 115.4 [84.7–149.4] 106.4 [78.7–140.3] 125.7 [94.7–156.7] 114.8 [85.2–153.4] 0.001
  Dairy products (not desserts) 85.8 [28.8–145.0] 62.1 [13.3–127.3] 92.8 [41.4–145.0] 104.6 [49.3–187.9] <0.001
  Desserts 20.7 [3.7–61.2] 9.2 [0.5–33.7] 28.3 [4.5–65.8] 27.1 [9.2–66.7] <0.001
  Sauces and fats 38.1 [24.5–52.7] 32.3 [19.3–47.6] 39.9 [28.6–53.8] 38.1 [25.4–57.3] 0.001
  Prepared meals 21.9 [5.8–51.3] 12.9 [0.0–39.6] 20.8 [5.8–50.5] 40.2 [16.1–70.8] <0.001
  Cookies 21.4 [10.7–36.7] 18.5 [8.4–29.9] 23.8 [13.1–34.7] 24.6 [11.8–43.5] 0.002
  Fried foods and salty snacks 16.9 [6.3–31.6] 10.7 [2.3–21.8] 16.3 [6.4–30.6] 24.9 [12.5–39.6] <0.001
  Cakes and pastries 13.8 [7.9–29.1] 13.2 [6.9–26.4] 16.0 [7.9–34.4] 13.0 [7.7–28.6] 0.10
  Toppings 15.0 [5.4–30.0] 13.1 [4.5–28.8] 16.3 [6.4–32.5] 15.0 [4.3–29.8] 0.07
  Processed meats 11.1 [4.5–20.0] 8.3 [1.5–16.6] 12.2 [4.6–20.2] 12.7 [7.3–21.4] <0.001
  Liquors 0.0 [0.0–3.7] 0.0 [0.0–3.7] 0.0 [0.0–4.5] 0.0 [0.0–3.7] 0.82
  Candy 5.9 [1.6–13.0] 4.9 [1.2–10.6] 5.8 [1.9–11.0] 7.1 [2.2–16.8] 0.008
  Plant-based products 0.0 [0.0–0.0] 0.0 [0.0–0.0] 0.0 [0.0–0.0] 0.0 [0.0–0.0] 0.78
Nutrients
 Carbohydrates, En% 45.9 ± 6.4 44.6 ± 6.5 45.7 ± 6.4 47.3 ± 6.1 <0.001
 Protein, En% 15.5 ± 2.6 16.2 ± 2.5 15.6 ± 2.6 14.6 ± 2.4 <0.001
 Animal protein, g/d 51.4 ± 14.9 50.9 ± 14.1 52.7 ± 15.4 50.5 ± 15.2 0.29
 Plant protein, g/d 30.7 ± 9.9 29.5 ± 9.2 31.9 ± 10.3 30.6 ± 9.9 0.05
 Fat, En% 35.8 [32.4–40.0] 35.5 [32.1–39.9] 36.1 [32.9–39.7] 35.8 [32.2–40.5] 0.66
 SFAs, g/d 29.3 [22.7–37.7] 26.8 [20.9–35.2] 30.3 [24.2–38.0] 31.6 [23.7–39.4] <0.001
 MUFAs, g/d 28.2 [21.5–35.1] 25.2 [19.6–32.8] 29.9 [22.6–35.3] 29.3 [22.9–36.9] 0.001
 PUFAs, g/d 17.3 [13.0–23.1] 16.3 [12.0–22.9] 18.2 [13.8–23.3] 17.5 [13.0–23.7] 0.08
 Total fiber intake, g/d 22.4 ± 6.8 22.6 ± 6.8 23.3 ± 7.3 21.3 ± 6.1 0.007
 Fruit consumption, g/d 123.0 [66.3–232.0] 167.4 [84.1–260.7] 128.6 [70.3–232.0] 94.4 [35.1–169.1] <0.001
 Vegetables consumption,2 g/d 112.4 [76.8–158.6] 130.2 [87.0–171.6] 114.7 [80.7–163.3] 97.0 [68.4–129.9] <0.001
 Alcohol consumption, g/d 2.6 [0.0–11.1] 4.8 [0.1–15.6] 2.6 [0.1–9.7] 1.1 [0.0–6.7] 0.001
Mediterranean diet score 4.3 ± 1.7 4.8 ± 1.8 4.3 ± 1.7 3.8 ± 1.5 <0.001
DASH score 23.8 ± 4.7 25.9 ± 4.6 24.2 ± 4.2 21.4 ± 4.1 <0.001
1

Values are mean ± SD or median [IQR] unless indicated otherwise. Differences were tested by ANOVA or Kruskal–Wallis test for continuous variables and with the χ2 test for categorical variables. DASH, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension; RTR, renal transplant recipient; T, tertile; UPF, ultra-processed food.

2

Including legumes.