Consumption of ultraprocessed food is associated with higher blood pressure among 6-year-old children from southern Brazil

Abstract

Ultraprocessed foods (UPF) consumption plays a critical role in the development of chronic diseases, but evidence of their effect on children's health is limited. We hypothesized that the consumption of UPF can influence blood pressure levels in 6-year-old children. This study is a secondary analysis of a randomized field trial in Brazil that is registered at clinicaltrial.gov (NCT00635453). Dietary intake was obtained using 2 multiple-pass 24-hour recalls when 305 children were 3 and 6 years old. We classified foods according to the NOVA system and determined the percentage of total energy intake derived from ultraprocessed foods. We collected anthropometric measures from and evaluated systolic and diastolic blood pressures of 6-year-old children. Linear regression analysis was used to assess the association between UPF consumption and blood pressure levels. UPF represented 40.3% (interquartile range, 34.1-48.5) of the total energy intake at 3 years and 45.2% (interquartile range, 41.5-53.2) at 6 years. The adjusted linear regression analyses showed that systolic blood pressure was associated with UPF consumption at 6 years (P = .05), birth weight (P = .02), waist circumference (P < .01), and physical activity (P = .04), whereas diastolic blood pressure was associated with UPF consumption at 3 and 6 years (P = .01 and P < .01, respectively), birth weight (P = .05), and waist circumference (P < .01). Our data suggest that UPF consumption played a role in increasing 6-year-old children's blood pressure. These results reinforce the importance of effective strategies to prevent the excessive consumption of UPF in childhood.

Keywords: Arterial pressure; Child nutrition; Eating; Food intake; Nutrition survey.