Increased childhood intake of ultra-processed foods is associated with a higher body mass index in young adulthood

1. Greater childhood intake of ultra-processed foods was associated with higher body mass index in young adulthood.

2. The association was most evident in children with the highest genetic susceptibility to elevated body mass index.

Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good) 

In this 17-year prospective cohort study from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, investigators examined whether ultra-processed food intake in childhood was associated with adiposity in young adulthood and whether this relationship was modified by genetic susceptibility to higher body mass index. The analysis included 3,061 participants in England with dietary data at age 7 and measured body mass index at age 24. Ultra-processed food intake was derived from 3-day food diaries using the NOVA classification and expressed as the percentage of total energy intake. Genetic risk was estimated using a body mass index polygenic score. Linear regression models adjusted for childhood body mass index, age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic factors, physical activity, and total energy intake were used to assess associations and gene-diet interaction. Each 10% increase in energy intake from ultra-processed foods at age 7 was associated with a 0.21 kg/m² higher body mass index at age 24. There was also evidence of interaction between ultra-processed food intake and genetic predisposition to higher body mass index. In subgroup analyses, the association persisted only among children with the highest genetic risk, in whom each 10% increase in ultra-processed food intake was associated with a 0.74 kg/m² higher adult body mass index. These findings suggest that childhood ultra-processed food consumption may have the greatest long-term adiposity impact in those genetically predisposed to obesity.

Click here to read the study in BMC Medicine

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