Background: Higher intake of ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) might be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Objectives: Our objective was to examine the association between usual percentage of calories (%kcal) from UPFs and the American Heart Association's "Life's Simple 7" cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics in US adults.
Methods: We analyzed data from 11,246 adults aged ≥20 y from the NHANES 2011-2016 (a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey). UPF designation was assigned on the basis of the NOVA classification system, according to the extent and purpose of food processing. Each CVH metric was given a score of 0, 1, or 2 representing poor, intermediate, or ideal health, respectively. Scores of the 6 metrics (excluding diet) were summed, and CVH was categorized as inadequate (0-4), average (5-8), or optimum (9-12). We used the National Cancer Institute's methods to estimate the usual %kcal from UPFs, and multivariable linear and multinomial logistic regression to assess the association between UPFs and CVH, adjusted for age, sex, race and Hispanic origin, education, and poverty.
Results: The weighted prevalence of inadequate, average, and optimum CVH was 8.0%, 51.7%, and 40.3%, respectively. The mean usual %kcal from UPFs was 55.4%, and midpoint of quartiles of intake ranged from 40.4% (quartile 1) to 70.5% (quartile 4). Every 5% increase in calories from UPFs was associated with 0.14 points lower CVH score (P < 0.001). The adjusted ORs for inadequate CVH were 1.40 (95% CI: 1.23, 1.60), 1.82 (1.45, 2.29), and 2.57 (1.79, 3.70), respectively, comparing quartiles 2, 3, and 4 with quartile 1 of UPF intake. The pattern of association was largely consistent across subgroups.
Conclusions: Usual %kcal from UPFs represented more than half of total calorie intake in US adults. A graded inverse association between %kcal from UPFs and CVH was observed.
Keywords: NHANES; cardiovascular health; odds ratio; ultraprocessed foods; usual percentage of calories.
Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society for Nutrition 2020.