Skip to main content
NUTRITION 2023 Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Back

Topical Area: Food Science and Nutrition

Food Science and Nutrition (Poster Session)

(P06-054-23) A Research Roadmap about Processed Foods, Food Processing, and Human Health in the Context of the US Food System: Proceedings from an Interdisciplinary Workshop

Saturday, July 22, 2023
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET
Location: Poster Board 51
Disclosure(s):
Lauren E. O'Connor, PhD, MPH: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Kelly A. Higgins, PhD, MPH: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Chelsey Fiecke, PhD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Julie M. Hess, PhD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: To convene experts in nutrition, food science, and epidemiology from government, academia, and industry to develop a Research Roadmap to identify priorities for investigating effects of processed foods on obesity and cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) in the US.

Methods: We convened attendees at various career stages with diverse viewpoints on the topic. We started with a “Food Processing Primer” to build foundational knowledge of how and why foods are processed, followed by presentations about how processed foods influence energy intake, obesity, and CMD risk. We formed breakout groups to brainstorm mechanistic or confounding explanations for associations between processed foods, obesity, and CMD from epidemiological studies. Facilitators created research questions (RQs) based on key themes from the breakout groups. Different breakout groups convened to discuss what is known and unknown for each RQ and develop sub-RQs that could address gaps.

Results: Workshop attendees generally agreed that RQs should focus on ultra-processed foods (UPFs) as classified by Nova Group 4 because the preponderance of evidence uses this classification system. The 6 main RQs were: 1) What external factors lead people to consume high amounts of UPFs? 2) What attributes of UPFs may influence ingestive behavior and contribute to excess energy intake? 3) What attributes of UPFs may contribute to clinically meaningful metabolic responses? 4) Does UPF intake influence obesity or CMD risk independent of diet quality? 5) What objective methods or measures could further categorize UPFs, considering food processing, formulation, and the interaction of the two? 6) How can we improve exposure assessment of UPF intake? Heterogeneity and subjectivity in UPF classification was a challenge for RQ development.

Conclusions: The uncertainty and complexity around UPF intake warrants further causal, mechanistic, and methodological research to better understand the utility of applying this classification to foods in the US.

Funding Sources: This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture #2022-07671.