How to Cite
Abstract
Diets of a highest quality have been associated with a significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality and noncommunicable chronic diseases (NCDs), as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. On the other hand, the last decade has been marked by the recognition of the deleterious effects on health resulting from dietary patterns based on ultra-processed foods (UPF). UPF are defined, according to the Nova classification, as industrial formulations of processed food substances (oils, fats, sugars, starch, protein isolates) that have been extracted or refined from whole foods, containing little or no whole food, and typically including flavorings, colorings, emulsifiers, and other cosmetic additives. The consumption of ultra-processed foods is strongly asociated with a nutrient profile linked to the increasing risk of mortality and NCDs, including overweight and obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and even depression. The metric that considers the food processing level is the percentage (%) of energy contribution from ultra-processed foods, mainly measured by high-burden questionnaires. However, a new simpler metric, named Nova-UPF score, obtained from a 3-minute electronic self-report questionnaire related to the consumption of selected subgroups of UPF in the day prior to the interview, shows a good potential in reflecting the dietary share of UPF, with low burden in data collection. Evaluating and monitoring the quality of diets in a practical and quick manner is important to prevent the ocurrence of negative health outcomes, as well as to contribute for the formulation and evaluation of public policies.