Ultraprocessed, hyper‐palatable, and high energy density foods: Prevalence and distinction across 30 years in the United States
Authors' conclusion
Together, UPF, HPF, and HED foods comprise most foods in the US food supply. Changes in availability varied across definitions, with substantial increases in HPF and HED and relative stability of UPF.
Study context
- Population
- Foods in the US food system, 4 US Department of Agriculture data sets (1988, 2001, 2006, 2018)4 data sets
- Exposure
- Ultraprocessed foods (UPF) vs hyper-palatable foods (HPF) vs high energy density (HED) food definitions, 1988 to 2018
- Outcome
- Availability (prevalence) of UPF, HPF and HED foods and degree of distinction across definitions
- Follow-up
- 1988 to 2018
Methodological detailsrepeated cross-sectional analysis of 4 USDA food system data sets (1988, 2001, 2006, 2018)
- Repeated cross-sectional analysis of 4 USDA food system data sets (1988, 2001, 2006, 2018)
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Prevalence of foods classified per definition · across years
UPF
58% to 65%
HPF
55% to 69%
HED
37% to 47%
- Increase over time, HPF (largest)
- 14%
- Increase over time, UPF (smallest)
- 4%
- Overlap in foods across definitions (moderate to high)
- 40%-70%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Ultraprocessed, hyper‐palatable, and high energy density foods: Prevalence and distinction across 30 years in the United States. Obesity (Silver Spring). Published 4 October 2023. doi:10.
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