The Study
The Longitudinal Effect of Ultra-Processed Food on the Development of Dyslipidemia/Obesity as Assessed by the NOVA System and Food Compass Score.
This study watched a bunch of people for 5 years and noticed that those who ate more ultra-processed foods tended to get more health problems like high cholesterol or weight gain. But it didn’t make people change their diets—it just watched what they already did, so we can’t say the food definitely caused the problems.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
This study looked at what people ate over 5 years and saw if eating more processed foods made them more likely to get high cholesterol or gain weight.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 560 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — a 20% higher risk means about 1 in 5 more people get high cholesterol if they eat lots of ultra-processed foods; cutting them out could help prevent heart problems and weight gain.
- 2People who ate the most ultra-processed foods had a 20% higher chance of high cholesterol.
- 3People who ate more healthy, less processed foods had 14–24% lower cholesterol risk, and women had 24% lower obesity risk.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Molecular nutrition & food research
Year
2023
Authors
Li-Juan Tan, S. Hwang, Sangah Shin
Related Content
Claims (7)
The Food Compass system rates foods with a single score from 1 to 100 using 54 measurable characteristics grouped into nine categories related to health.
Adults aged 40 and older who consume more ultra-processed foods have a 20% higher risk of developing dyslipidemia over five years compared to those who consume less.
Women aged 40 and older who eat more foods with a high Food Compass Score have a 24% lower risk of developing obesity over five years compared to those who eat fewer such foods.
People who eat the most ultra-processed foods have a 20% higher risk of dyslipidemia compared to those who eat the least, based on measurements using the NOVA system.
Adults aged 40 and older who eat more nutritious, less processed foods as measured by the Food Compass Score have a 14–24% lower risk of developing dyslipidemia over five years.
People who eat more ultra-processed foods tend to have diets that score lower on the Alternate Mediterranean Diet scale, which measures adherence to a heart-healthy eating pattern.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.