Impact of ultra‑processed food intake on the risk of COVID‑19: A prospective cohort study

By:
Lihui Zhou1 · Huiping Li1,2 · Shunming Zhang1,2 · Hongxi Yang3 · Yue Ma1 · Yaogang Wang1
1 School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, No. 22, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin 300070, China ; 2 Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden ; 3 Department of Bioinformatics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
Date:
2022
Resource type:
Peer review
Link:
https://nutritionconnect.org/media/113

Nutrition plays a key role in supporting the human immune system and reducing the risk of infections. However, there is limited evidence exploring the relationship between diet and the risk of COVID-19. This study aimed to assess the associations between consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) and COVID-19 risk.

The study concluded that higher UPF consumption in the diet was associated with a significantly increased risk of COVID-19 in this large prospective cohort. This association could be partly mediated by the effect of UPF consumption on BMI. Our fndings suggest that public health interventions to improve nutrition and poor metabolic health may be important for reducing the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic. Further evidence on the underlying mechanism is needed

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This resource has been peer reviewed