Consumption of ultra-processed food and its association with obesity in Canada
Background: The prevalence of obesity has increased worldwide. Meanwhile, traditional dietary patterns based on homemade culinary preparations from fresh foods are being replaced by processed and ready-to-consume foods.  Objectives: This study aims to assess the association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and obesity in the Canadian population. A secondary objective consists in investigating potential determinants associated with ultra-processed food consumption. Methods: Cross-sectional study including adults aged 18 years or more from the 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey, cycle 2.2. Obesity is determined using body mass index. Ultra-processed food intake is estimated using daily relative energy intake of ultra-processed food (% of total energy intake) from 24-hour food recall. Multivariate linear regression is performed to investigate potential determinants of ultra-processed food consumption, and multivariate logistic regression is performed to verify the association between ultra-processed food consumption and obesity. Results: Ultra-processed foods are largely consumed in Canada, almost half (44.7%) of Canadians daily calories comes from these foods. Consumption of ultra-processed foods is higher amongst men, younger adults, with fewer years of formal education, smokers, physically inactive, and Canadian-born individuals. Ultra-processed food consumption is positively associated with obesity. A ten-percentage point increase in the relative energy intake of ultra-processed foods increases the odds of having obesity by 6%, after adjustment for potential confounding factors (OR = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.02-1.10). Conclusion: Canadians willing to improve their health and diet would benefit in reducing consumption of ultra-processed foods and increasing consumption of freshly prepared dishes made from unprocessed and minimally processed foods.
ultra-processed food food processing obesity diet quality