Consumption of ultra-processed foods among adolescents, adults and the elderly in a capital city of Northeastern Brazil

Ultra-processed foods are industrial products that contain an unbalanced nutritional composition, contributing to a high intake of calories, sugars, fats and sodium. The aim of this study was to evaluate the consumption of ultra-processed foods among adolescents, adults and the elderly. In the city of Teresina, Piaui, adolescents (10 to 19 years old), adults (20 to 59 years old) and elderly persons (>= 60 years old) were interviewed. The 24-hour food recall was used to assess food consumption with subsequent replication in 40% of the sample. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Bonferroni's post-hoc test was used to verify the data, and the value of p<0.05 was adopted as significant. It was observed that adolescents who consumed a greater amount of ultra-processed foods (2nd and 3rd tertile) consumed significantly less grains and legumes. Among adults, it was observed that the tertiles with higher consumption of ultra-processed foods had significantly lower consumption of grains, meat, fruits, vegetables, legumes and eggs. Among the elderly, in the tertiles with higher consumption of ultra processed foods, there was significantly lower consumption of grains and meat. We conclude that higher consumption of ultra-processed foods contributed to a lower consumption of unprocessed or minimally processed foods.