Post Date: Post Date – 02:33 PM, Monday – November 7th
Understanding deaths from consuming these foods and simulating how changes in dietary patterns can support more effective food policies may prevent disease and premature death.
Washington: Recent research shows that traditional foods and meals made from fresh and minimally processed ingredients are gradually being replaced by ultra-processed food (UPF), ready-to-eat or heated industrial formulations prepared from food or laboratory sources. Made of synthetic substances. In the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier, more than 10% of all premature, preventable deaths in Brazil in 2019 were associated with increased consumption of these foods, despite the fact that Brazilians’ consumption of these products Much lower than other countries with high incomes.
“Previous modeling studies have estimated the health and economic burden of key ingredients such as sodium, sugar, and trans fat, as well as specific food or beverages such as sugar-sweetened beverages,” explained Eduardo AF Nilson, principal investigator at the Center for Epidemiology, University of São Paulo, Nutrition and Health. Research and the Brazilian Osvaldo Cruz Foundation. “To our knowledge, no studies to date have estimated the potential impact of UPF on premature death.
Understanding deaths from consuming these foods and simulating how changes in dietary patterns can support more effective food policies may prevent disease and premature death. Dr. Nilson and colleagues modeled data from nationally representative dietary surveys to estimate baseline UPF intake by sex and age group. Using 2019 data, statistical analysis was used to estimate attributable The proportion of total deaths due to UPF consumption and the effects of a 10%, 20% and 50% reduction in UPF intake in these age groups.
During the study period, UPF consumption represented between 13% and 21% of total food intake in Brazil across all age groups and gender strata. A total of 541,260 adults aged 30 to 69 died prematurely in 2019, including 261,061 from preventable noncommunicable diseases.
The model found that about 57,000 deaths that year were attributable to UPF consumption, which equates to 10.5% of all premature deaths and 21.8% of all preventable NCD deaths among adults aged 30 to 69. In income countries such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, where UPF accounts for more than half of total caloric intake, the impact is estimated to be greater.
Dr. Nilson noted that over time, UPFs have gradually replaced the consumption of traditional whole foods such as rice and beans in Brazil. Reducing UPF consumption and promoting healthier food choices may require multiple interventions and public health measures, such as fiscal and regulatory policies, changes to the food environment, enhanced implementation of food-based dietary guidelines, and improved consumer knowledge, attitude and behavior.
Reducing UPF consumption by 10% to 50% could prevent approximately 5,900 to 29,300 premature deaths annually in Brazil.
“UPF consumption is associated with many disease outcomes, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, certain cancers and others, and it is a significant cause of preventable and premature death in Brazilian adults,” said Dr. Nelson. “Even reducing UPF consumption to levels seen a decade ago would reduce associated premature deaths by 21%.
Policies to curb UPF consumption are urgently needed. “Having a tool to estimate deaths due to consumption of UPFs could help countries estimate the burden of dietary changes associated with food industrial processing and design more effective food policy options to promote healthier food environments.
Examples of UPFs include prepackaged soups, sauces, frozen pizzas, ready meals, hot dogs, sausages, sodas, ice cream, and store-bought cookies, cakes, candies, and doughnuts.
