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Title: Ultraprocessed food intake and body mass index change among youths: a prospective cohort study. Author: Du M, Wang L, Martín-Calvo N, Dhana K, Khandpur N, Rossato SL, Steele EM, Fung TT, Chavarro JE, Sun Q, Zhang FF. Journal: Am J Clin Nutr; 2024 Oct; 120(4):836-845. PubMed ID: 39362729. Abstract: BACKGROUND: Suboptimal diets may promote undesired weight gain in youths, with high ultraprocessed food (UPF) intake becoming a significant concern in the United States. OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the association between UPF intake and body mass index [BMI (in kg/m2)] change in large United States youth cohorts. METHODS: Participants included children and adolescents (7-17 y) from the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS1 and GUTS2) who completed baseline and ≥1 follow-up diet and anthropometrics assessment (GUTS1 1996-2001: N = 15,797; GUTS2 2004-2011: N = 9720). Follow-up years were based on diet assessment availability. UPFs were categorized using the Nova system, with intakes evaluated as the cumulative mean percent energy from UPFs and subgroups. BMI was assessed using self-reported body weight/height. Changes in BMI annually and over 2, 4-5, and 7 y in association with UPF intake were examined using multivariable repeated-measure linear mixed models. RESULTS: At baseline, the mean percentage of energy from UPFs was 49.9% in GUTS1 and 49.5% in GUTS2 participants; mean BMI was 18.7 and 19.8, respectively. After multivariable adjustments for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, each 10% increment in UPF intake was associated with a 0.01 (95% confidence interval: 0.003, 0.03) increase annually and a 0.07 (0.01, 0.13) increase over 5 y in GUTS1 participants. In GUTS2, increases were 0.02 (0.003, 0.04) annually and 0.09 (0.01, 0.18) over 4 y. Among GUTS1, statistically significant annual BMI increases of 0.02-0.07 were associated with elevated intake of ultraprocessed breakfast cereals, savory snacks, and ready-to-eat/heat foods, especially pizza, burgers, and sandwiches. No association was found between UPF intake and overweight/obesity risk. CONCLUSIONS: A higher UPF intake was associated with a modest yet significant increase in BMI in large prospective cohorts of United States youths, calling for public health efforts to promote healthful food intake among youths to prevent excessive weight gain.[Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]