Table 1.
Characteristics of the study sample according to quartile of UPF consumption; ELSA-Brasil, 2008–2010 (n = 8,065)
| Characteristic | Quartile 1* (n = 2,016) | Quartile 2* (n = 2,016) | Quartile 3* (n = 2,017) | Quartile 4* (n = 2,016) | Total (n = 8,065) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median or N | P25–P75 or % | Median or N | P25–P75 or % | Median or N | P25–P75 or % | Median or N | P25–P75 or % | Median or N | P25–P75 or % | |
| UPFs (g/day) | 166 | 118–201 | 299 | 266–332 | 443 | 403–489 | 735 | 627–912 | 366 | 234–552 |
| Age (years) | 52 | 46–59 | 50 | 44–56 | 48 | 43–55 | 47 | 42–54 | 49 | 44–56 |
| Female sex | 1,217 | 60.4 | 1,259 | 62.5 | 1,230 | 61 | 1,026 | 50.9 | 4,732 | 58.7 |
| Race/color | ||||||||||
| Black | 332 | 16.5 | 262 | 13 | 254 | 12.6 | 300 | 14.9 | 1,148 | 14.2 |
| Brown | 589 | 29.2 | 581 | 28.8 | 560 | 27.8 | 475 | 23.6 | 2,205 | 27.3 |
| White | 992 | 49.2 | 1,109 | 55 | 1,139 | 56.5 | 1,179 | 58.5 | 4,419 | 54.8 |
| Asian | 81 | 4 | 49 | 2.4 | 51 | 2.5 | 43 | 2.1 | 224 | 2.8 |
| Indigenous | 22 | 1.1 | 15 | 0.7 | 13 | 0.6 | 19 | 0.9 | 69 | 0.9 |
| Income (Brazilian reais)† | 1,452 | 7,467–2,352 | 1,522 | 913–2,352 | 1,522 | 889–2,352 | 1,452 | 726–2,352 | 1,452 | 747–2,352 |
| Education level | ||||||||||
| Less than elementary school | 106 | 5.3 | 63 | 3.1 | 45 | 2.2 | 80 | 4 | 294 | 3.7 |
| Elementary school | 105 | 5.2 | 96 | 4.8 | 80 | 4 | 117 | 5.8 | 398 | 4.9 |
| Secondary school | 642 | 31.9 | 641 | 31.8 | 675 | 33.5 | 672 | 33.3 | 2,630 | 32.6 |
| College/university | 1,163 | 57.7 | 1,216 | 60.3 | 1,217 | 60.3 | 1,147 | 56.9 | 4,743 | 58.8 |
| Smoking | ||||||||||
| Never | 1,214 | 60.2 | 1,276 | 63.3 | 1,274 | 63.2 | 1,232 | 61.1 | 4,996 | 62 |
| Former | 537 | 26.6 | 526 | 26.1 | 513 | 25.4 | 517 | 25.6 | 2,093 | 26 |
| Current | 265 | 13.1 | 214 | 10.6 | 230 | 11.4 | 267 | 13.2 | 976 | 12 |
| Physical activity (MET min/week) | 396 | 0–1,074 | 396 | 0–1,188 | 297 | 0–1,000 | 264 | 0–990 | 330 | 0–1,074 |
| Alcohol (g/week) | 0 | 0–64.8 | 0 | 0–55.9 | 0 | 0–51.8 | 0 | 0–64.8 | 0 | 0–59.5 |
| Energy intake (kcal/day) | 1,973 | 1,614–2,439 | 2,241 | 1,861–2,768 | 2,547 | 2,111–3,099 | 3,013 | 2405–3,773 | 2,413 | 1,927–3,054 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 24.4 | 22.4–26.7 | 24.6 | 22.6–27 | 24.9 | 22.7–27.4 | 25.4 | 23–28.4 | 24.8 | 22.6–27.3 |
| Saturated fat (g/day) | 20.9 | 15.8–27.5 | 25.8 | 20.1–32.5 | 29.8 | 23.1–38.1 | 36.2 | 27.3–47.6 | 27.6 | 20.5–36.6 |
| Sugar (g/day) | 84.7 | 64.1–112 | 103 | 79.4–131 | 120 | 93.7–153 | 153 | 115–198 | 112 | 82.9–152 |
| Fiber (g/day) | 25.2 | 19.3–33.3 | 27.1 | 20.4–35.4 | 29.1 | 22.3–38.2 | 31.7 | 23.6–42.1 | 28.1 | 21.1–37.3 |
| Minimally processed foods and culinary ingredients (g/day) | 1,603 | 1,252–2,042 | 1,669 | 1,283–2,098 | 1,717 | 1,352–2,197 | 1,835 | 1,439–2,341 | 1,703 | 1,323–2,176 |
| Weight gain since baseline (kg)‡ | 2 | −1 to 5 | 2.3 | −0.5 to 5.4 | 2.6 | −0.4 to 5.7 | 2.8 | −0.3 to 6.3 | 2.4 | −0.5 to 5.6 |
*
UPF quartiles: first, <234 g/day; second, between 234 g/day and 365 g/day; third, between 366 g/day and 552 g/day; and fourth, >552 g/day.
†
In the baseline period of the study, US$1 was equivalent to R$1.6–1.9 in Brazilian currency.
‡
Weight gain was calculated as the difference between the baseline and second follow-up visit; for participants not attending the second follow-up, we used weight obtained at the first follow-up.