Objective: Describing the consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) and their association with the nutritional profiles among users of a health promotion service in a Brazilian city.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Setting: Public health promotion service of Primary Health Care in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Participants: Totally, 3372 participants.
Results: UPF were found to contribute to 27·7 % of the diet's total energy. The highest consumption was associated with higher values for energy intake (1561·8 v. 1331·8 kcal/d; P < 0·01), energy density (1·7 v. 1·4 kcal/g; P < 0·01), total (32·5 v. 27·3 %; P < 0·01) and trans-fats (2·1 v. 1·2 %; P < 0·01) and Na (1001·6 v. 758·9 mg/1000 kcal; P < 0·01) and with lower values for proteins (14·9 v. 19·6 %; P < 0·01), mono-unsaturated fats (16·1 v. 20·1 %; P = 0·02), n-3 (0·9 v. 1·1 %; P < 0·01) and some vitamins and minerals when comparing individuals in the last quintile of energy contribution from UPF in relation to the first one. The prevalence rate of nutrient inadequacy aimed at preventing non-communicable diseases increased between 30 % and 100 % when compared with the values of the fifth to the first quintile of UPF consumption (P < 0·001). However, the participants had lower energy intake, energy density and Na and higher fibre consumption when compared to Brazilian population.
Conclusions: Participants showed a high consumption of UPF, but also positive diet characteristics when compared with the national data. The results suggest the importance of health promotion services to promote healthy food and the need to include approaches to reduce UPF consumption.
Keywords: Chronic non-communicable diseases; Nutrients; Primary Health Care; Quality of diet; Ultra-processed foods.