Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey.
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey.
Nutr Bull. 2024 Dec;49(4):538-549. doi: 10.1111/nbu.12711. Epub 2024 Oct 13.
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the amount of ultra-processed food (UPF) in the diet and low-grade inflammation in children. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 50 healthy children recruited from children attending the Social Paediatrics Outpatient Clinic for follow-up of normal developmental stages. Low-grade inflammation was calculated by INFLA-score, dietary intake by three 24-h dietary recalls and dietary content analyses by BeBiS™ software. The mean age of the 50 children included in our study was 10.18 ± 3.98 years (5-17 years). UPF accounted for 24.5% of the total daily energy intake of children. In children with higher inflammation scores (INFLA-score ≥ 2), the amount in grams of UPF and the percentage of total energy from UPF were found to be significantly higher (p = 0.030 and p = 0.015, respectively). A weak positive correlation was found between the INFLA-score and the percentage of daily dietary energy intake coming from UPFs (r = 0.350, p < 0.01), the average daily energy intake from UPFs (r = 0.313, p < 0.05), and the average daily amount of UPF consumed (r = 0.260, p < 0.05). The linear regression model revealed that every one-unit increase (1%) in the percentage of total daily energy intake coming from UPF caused an increase in β = 0.154-unit in the INFLA-score. It was found that obesity was not a mediator in the association between the percentages of total energy intake from UPF on the INFLA-score, instead, the energy intake from UPF had a significant direct association with the INFLA-score. The average amount of UPF consumed daily showed an increasing pattern in parallel with inflammation-score quartile classes (Q1 to Q4) with 33.3% in Q1, 38.5% in Q2, 53.8% in Q3 and 66.7% in Q4 (p = 0.049). In conclusion, a positive association was found between low-grade inflammation and UPF consumption in children, independent of obesity.
本研究旨在探讨饮食中超加工食品（UPF）的含量与儿童低度炎症之间的关系。这项横断面研究在 50 名健康儿童中进行，这些儿童均来自社会儿科门诊，以随访正常发育阶段。通过 INFLA 评分计算低度炎症，通过三份 24 小时膳食回忆和 BeBiS ™软件进行膳食摄入量分析。本研究纳入的 50 名儿童的平均年龄为 10.18 ± 3.98 岁（5-17 岁）。UPF 占儿童每日总能量摄入的 24.5%。在炎症评分较高的儿童（INFLA 评分≥2）中，UPF 的克数和 UPF 提供的总能量百分比明显更高（p=0.030 和 p=0.015）。INFLA 评分与 UPF 提供的每日膳食能量摄入百分比呈弱正相关（r=0.350，p<0.01），与 UPF 提供的平均每日能量摄入呈正相关（r=0.313，p<0.05），与 UPF 每日平均摄入量呈正相关（r=0.260，p<0.05）。线性回归模型显示，UPF 提供的总日能量摄入百分比每增加一个单位（1%），INFLA 评分增加β=0.154 个单位。结果发现，肥胖并不是 UPF 提供的总能量摄入百分比与 INFLA 评分之间关联的中介，相反，UPF 提供的能量摄入与 INFLA 评分有显著的直接关联。儿童每日平均 UPF 摄入量与炎症评分四分位数（Q1 至 Q4）呈平行增加趋势，Q1 为 33.3%，Q2 为 38.5%，Q3 为 53.8%，Q4 为 66.7%（p=0.049）。总之，儿童低度炎症与 UPF 摄入之间存在正相关，与肥胖无关。
