The Study
Higher consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with disordered eating symptoms and low-quality diet in adults with obesity
This study looked at a group of people with obesity and found that those who ate more packaged snacks and fast food also tended to say they ate when they weren't hungry or felt out of control around food. But it didn't watch them over time, so we can't tell if the junk food made them eat that way, or if they were already eating that way and just picked more junk food.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
This study looked at people with obesity and found that those who ate more packaged, processed foods also had stronger urges to eat when stressed, bored, or emotionally upset — and ate worse overall.
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 542 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — these patterns suggest ultra-processed foods may worsen unhealthy eating habits in people with obesity, making weight management harder.
- 2People eating over 35% of calories from ultra-processed foods had worse eating habits: higher binge eating scores, more emotional/external/uncontrolled eating, lower diet quality (37/100 vs.
- 345–47), and less protein (17% vs.
- 422%).
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Archives of Endocrinology and Metabolism
Year
2026
Authors
Carolina Machado Favaron, M. Mônico-Neto, H. K. Antunes, L. Bittencourt, T. Galvão, S. Tufik, R. M. S. Campos
Related Content
Claims (6)
Adults with obesity who consume more ultra-processed foods have higher scores on tests measuring binge eating and bulimia symptoms compared to those who consume less ultra-processed food.
Adults with obesity who consume more ultra-processed foods show higher levels of emotional eating and eating in response to external cues, according to standardized questionnaire scores, compared to those who consume less.
Adults with obesity who eat more ultra-processed foods show higher scores on a questionnaire measuring uncontrolled eating compared to those who eat less ultra-processed food.
Adults with obesity who eat more ultra-processed foods have lower diet quality scores on the Diet Quality Index–DQI-DFG than those who eat less of these foods.
Among adults with obesity, those who eat more ultra-processed foods consume less protein than those who eat fewer ultra-processed foods, with the highest consumers averaging 17% of calories from protein and the lowest consumers averaging 22%.
Nutritional guidelines that focus only on calories, fat, protein, and sugar are linked to higher consumption of ultra-processed foods and do not lead to better public health.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.