Is the degree of food processing and convenience linked with the nutritional quality of foods purchased by US households?
Open accessAbstract
Background "Processed foods" are defined as any foods other than raw agricultural commodities and can be categorized by the extent of changes occurring in foods as a result of processing. Conclusions about the association between the degree of food processing and nutritional quality are discrepant.Objective We aimed to determine 2000-2012 trends in the contribution of processed and convenience food categories to purchases by US households and to compare saturated fat, sugar, and sodium content of purchases across levels of processing and convenience.Design We analyzed purchases of consumer packaged goods for 157,142 households from the 2000-2012 Homescan Panel. We explicitly defined categories for classifying products by degree of industrial processing and separately by convenience of preparation. We classified >1.2 million products through use of barcode-specific descriptions and ingredient lists. Median saturated fat, sugar, and sodium content and the likelihood that purchases exceeded maximum daily intake recommendations for these components were compared across levels of processing or convenience by using quantile and logistic regression.Results More than three-fourths of energy in purchases by US households came from moderately (15.9%) and highly processed (61.0%) foods and beverages in 2012 (939 kcal/d per capita). Trends between 2000 and 2012 were stable. When classifying foods by convenience, ready-to-eat (68.1%) and ready-to-heat (15.2%) products supplied the majority of energy in purchases. The adjusted proportion of household-level food purchases exceeding 10% kcal from saturated fat, 15% kcal from sugar, and 2400 mg sodium/2000 kcal simultaneously was significantly higher for highly processed (60.4%) and ready-to-eat (27.1%) food purchases than for purchases of less-processed foods (5.6%) or foods requiring cooking/preparation (4.9%).Conclusions Highly processed food purchases are a dominant, unshifting part of US purchasing patterns, but highly processed foods may have higher saturated fat, sugar, and sodium content than less-processed foods. Wide variation in nutrient content suggests food choices within categories may be important.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Changes in diet and lifestyle and long-term weight gain in women and men
Mozaffarian, D., Hao, T., Rimm, E. B., Willett, W. C., & Hu, F. B. (2011) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmoa1014296 · Cited by 2,527 · see citing works
Ultra‐processed products are becoming dominant in the global food system
Monteiro, C. A., Moubarac, J. ‐., Cannon, G., Ng, S. W., & Popkin, B. (2013) · Obesity Reviews · doi:10.1111/obr.12107 · Cited by 1,827 · see citing works
Self-citationDietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010
Marshall, T. A. (2011) · The Journal of the American Dental Association · doi:10.14219/jada.archive.2011.0248 · Cited by 1,401 · see citing works
Monteiro, C. A., Levy, R. B., Claro, R. M., de Castro, I. R. R., & Cannon, G. (2010) · Public Health Nutrition · doi:10.1017/s1368980010003241 · Cited by 1,060 · see citing works
McGuire, S. (2011) · Advances in Nutrition · doi:10.3945/an.111.000430 · Cited by 1,029 · see citing works
A new classification of foods based on the extent and purpose of their processing
Monteiro, C. A., Levy, R. B., Claro, R. M., Castro, I. R. R. D., & Cannon, G. (2010) · Cadernos de Saúde Pública · doi:10.1590/s0102-311x2010001100005 · Cited by 991 · see citing works
Total and per capita value of food loss in the United States
Buzby, J. C., & Hyman, J. (2012) · Food Policy · doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2012.06.002 · Cited by 660 · see citing works
Buzby, J. C., Farah-Wells, H., & Hyman, J. (2014) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2501659 · Cited by 575 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Furthermore, our findings for CPG purchases may differ from prior US findings for intake because of consumer-level food waste, which studies show is sizable for perishable minimally processed foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables (37, 38).”
ResultConsumption of ultra-processed foods and likely impact on human health. Evidence from Canada
Moubarac, J., Martins, A. P. B., Claro, R. M., Levy, R. B., Cannon, G., & Monteiro, C. A. (2012) · Public Health Nutrition · doi:10.1017/s1368980012005009 · Cited by 494 · see citing works
Fulgoni, V. L. I., Keast, D. R., & Drewnowski, A. (2009) · Journal of Nutrition · doi:10.3945/jn.108.101360 · Cited by 466 · see citing works
Feeding the World Today and Tomorrow: The Importance of Food Science and Technology
Floros, J. D., Newsome, R., Fisher, W. F., Barbosa‐Cánovas, G. V., Chen, H., Dunne, C. P., German, J. B., Hall, R. L., Heldman, D. R., Karwe, M. V., et al. (2010) · Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety · doi:10.1111/j.1541-4337.2010.00127.x · Cited by 383 · see citing works
Processed foods: Contributions to nutrition
Weaver, C. M., Dwyer, J., Fulgoni, V. L., King, J. C., Leveille, G. A., MacDonald, R. S., Ordovas, J., & Schnakenberg, D. (2014) · The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.3945/ajcn.114.089284 · Cited by 347 · see citing works
Robinson, E., Almiron‐Roig, E., Rutters, F., de Graaf, C., Forde, C. G., Smith, C. T., Nevitt, S. J., & Jebb, S. A. (2014) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.081745 · Cited by 347 · see citing works
Processed foods and the nutrition transition: evidence from<scp>A</scp>sia
Baker, P., & Friel, S. (2014) · Obesity Reviews · doi:10.1111/obr.12174 · Cited by 276 · see citing works
Dietary Guidelines in the 21st Century—A Time for Food
Mozaffarian, D., & Ludwig, D. S. (2010) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.2010.1116 · Cited by 262 · see citing works
Robinson, E., Aveyard, P. N., Daley, A., Jolly, K. B., Lewis, A. L., Lycett, D., & Higgs, S. (2013) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.3945/ajcn.112.045245 · Cited by 259 · see citing works
Slimani, N., Deharveng, G., Southgate, D. A. T., Biessy, C., Chajès, V., van Bakel, M. M. E., Boutron‐Ruault, M., McTaggart, A., Grioni, S., Verkaik-Kloosterman, J., et al. (2009) · European Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1038/ejcn.2009.82 · Cited by 247 · see citing works
Processed and Ultra-processed Food Products: Consumption Trends in Canada from 1938 to 2011
Moubarac, J., Batal, M., Martins, A. P. B., Claro, R. M., Levy, R. B., Cannon, G., & Monteiro, C. A. (2014) · Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research · doi:10.3148/75.1.2014.15 · Cited by 244 · see citing works
A systematic survey of the sodium contents of processed foods
Webster, J. L., Dunford, E., & Neal, B. C. (2009) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.28688 · Cited by 223 · see citing works
Mhurchú, C. N., Capelin, C., Dunford, E., Webster, J. L., Neal, B. C., & Jebb, S. A. (2010) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.3945/ajcn.110.004481 · Cited by 196 · see citing works
Texture and satiation: The role of oro-sensory exposure time
de Graaf, C. (2012) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2012.05.008 · Cited by 192 · see citing works
Eating rate of commonly consumed foods promotes food and energy intake
van Dongen, M. V., Kok, F. J., & de Graaf, C. (2010) · Appetite · doi:10.1016/j.appet.2010.11.141 · Cited by 183 · see citing works
Eicher‐Miller, H. A., Fulgoni, V. L., & Keast, D. R. (2012) · Journal of Nutrition · doi:10.3945/jn.112.164442 · Cited by 155 · see citing works
A consumer-oriented classification system for home meal replacements
Costa, A. I. A., Dekker, M., Beumer, R. R., et al. (2001) · Food Quality and Preference · doi:10.1016/s0950-3293(01)00010-6 · Cited by 153 · see citing works
Moubarac, J.-C., Claro, R. M., Baraldi, L. G., Levy, R. B., Martins, A. P. B., Cannon, G., & Monteiro, C. A. (2013) · Global Public Health · doi:10.1080/17441692.2013.796401 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Moreira, P. V. L., Baraldi, L. G., Moubarac, J.-C., Monteiro, C. A., Newton, A., Capewell, S., & O’Flaherty, M. (2015) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0118353 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
Food companies' calorie-reduction pledges to improve U.S. diet
Slining, M. M., Ng, S. W., & Popkin, B. M. (2013) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2012.09.064 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
Self-citationDelay discounting and intake of ready-to-eat and away-from-home foods in overweight and obese women
Appelhans, B. M., Waring, M. E., Schneider, K. L., Pagoto, S., DeBiasse, M. A., Whited, M. C., & Lynch, E. B. (2012) · Appetite · doi:10.1016/j.appet.2012.07.009 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
Monitoring Foods and Nutrients Sold and Consumed in the United States: Dynamics and Challenges
Ng, S. W., & Popkin, B. M. (2012) · Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · doi:10.1016/j.jada.2011.09.015 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Self-citationWho Participates in Household Scanning Panels?
Lusk, J. L., & Brooks, K. R. (2011) · American Journal of Agricultural Economics · doi:10.1093/ajae/aaq123 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Consumer Demand for Convenience Foods: Demographics and Expenditures
Harris, J. M., Shiptsova, R., Harris, J. M., et al. (2007) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · doi:10.22004/ag.econ.46585 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Trends in Americans’ food-related time use: 1975–2006
Zick, C. D., & Stevens, R. B. (2009) · Public Health Nutrition · doi:10.1017/s1368980009992138 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
On the Accuracy of Nielsen Homescan DataPreprint
Liran Einav, B., Leibtag, E. S., & Nevo, A. (2008) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · doi:10.22004/ag.econ.56490 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Mathias, K. C., Ng, S. W., & Popkin, B. M. (2014) · Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · doi:10.1016/j.jand.2014.10.018 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Self-citationShewfelt, R. L. (2011) · CRC Press eBooks · doi:10.1201/9781420012729 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAST FOODS AND CONVENIENCE FOODS–DEFINITIONS AND DEVELOPMENTS
PEPPER, A. W. (1980) · Journal Of Consumer Studies and Home Economics · doi:10.1111/j.1470-6431.1980.tb00377.x · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Degree‐of‐readiness classification system for foods: development, testing and use
Pearson, J. M., Capps, O., Gassman, C. A., et al. (1985) · Journal Of Consumer Studies and Home Economics · doi:10.1111/j.1470-6431.1985.tb00449.x · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Balasasirekha, R. (2017) · The Indian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics · doi:10.21048/ijnd.2017.54.1.15450 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- [2]2. US Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services. Title 21-Food and Drugs; Chapter 9-Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
- [41]41. Baker P, Friel S. Processed foods and the nutrition transition: evidence from Asia. Obes Rev 2014;15:564-77.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Ultra-processed foods: What they are and how to identify them
Monteiro, C. A., Cannon, G., Levy, R. B., Moubarac, J.-C., Louzada, M. L., Rauber, F., Khandpur, N., Cediel, G., Neri, D., Martinez-Steele, E., et al. (2019) · Public Health Nutrition · doi:10.1017/s1368980018003762 · Cited by 2,964 · see citing works
The UN Decade of Nutrition, the NOVA food classification and the trouble with ultra-processing
Monteiro, C. A., Cannon, G., Moubarac, J.-C., Levy, R. B., Louzada, M. L. C., & Jaime, P. C. (2018) · Public Health Nutrition · doi:10.1017/s1368980017000234 · Cited by 2,333 · see citing works
Hall, K. D., Ayuketah, A., Brychta, R., Cai, H., Cassimatis, T., Chen, K. Y., Chung, S. T., Costa, E., Courville, A., Darcey, V., et al. (2019) · Cell Metabolism · doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2019.05.008 · Cited by 1,971 · see citing works
Baker, P., Machado, P., Santos, T., Sievert, K., Backholer, K., Hadjikakou, M., Russell, C., Huse, O., Bell, C., Scrinis, G., et al. (2020) · Obesity Reviews · doi:10.1111/obr.13126 · Cited by 1,194 · see citing works
Fiolet, T., Srour, B., Sellem, L., Kesse-Guyot, E., Allès, B., Méjean, C., Deschasaux, M., Fassier, P., Latino-Martel, P., Beslay, M., et al. (2018) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.k322 · Cited by 1,057 · see citing works
Srour, B., Fezeu, L. K., Kesse-Guyot, E., Allès, B., Méjean, C., Andrianasolo, R. M., Chazelas, E., Deschasaux, M., Hercberg, S., Galan, P., et al. (2019) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.l1451 · Cited by 955 · see citing works
Martínez Steele, E., Baraldi, L. G., Louzada, M. L. D. C., Moubarac, J.-C., Mozaffarian, D., & Monteiro, C. A. (2016) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2015-009892 · Cited by 838 · see citing works
American Cancer Society guideline for diet and physical activity for cancer prevention
Rock, C. L., Thomson, C., Gansler, T., Gapstur, S. M., McCullough, M. L., Patel, A. V., Andrews, K. S., Bandera, E. V., Spees, C. K., Robien, K., et al. (2020) · CA A Cancer Journal for Clinicians · doi:10.3322/caac.21591 · Cited by 789 · see citing works
Mendonça, R. D. D., Pimenta, A. M., Gea, A., de la Fuente-Arrillaga, C., Martinez-Gonzalez, M. A., Lopes, A. C. S., & Bes-Rastrollo, M. (2016) · The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.3945/ajcn.116.135004 · Cited by 618 · see citing works
Martínez Steele, E., Popkin, B. M., Swinburn, B., & Monteiro, C. A. (2017) · Population Health Metrics · doi:10.1186/s12963-017-0119-3 · Cited by 585 · see citing works
“” Another study evaluated US household barcoded purchasing data from 2000 to 2012 using a classification system guided by the one used in our study [12].”
BackgroundMethodSelf-citationObesity and the food system transformation in <scp>Latin America</scp>
Popkin, B. M., & Reardon, T. (2018) · Obesity Reviews · doi:10.1111/obr.12694 · Cited by 629 · see citing works
Self-citationAnand, S. S., Hawkes, C., de Souza, R. J., Mente, A., Dehghan, M., Nugent, R., Zulyniak, M. A., Weis, T., Bernstein, A. M., Krauss, R. M., et al. (2015) · Journal of the American College of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2015.07.050 · Cited by 507 · see citing works
Self-citationPoti, J. M., Braga, B., & Qin, B. (2017) · Current Obesity Reports · doi:10.1007/s13679-017-0285-4 · Cited by 484 · see citing works
Self-citationUltra-processed food consumption and excess weight among US adults
Juul, F., Martinez-Steele, E., Parekh, N., Monteiro, C. A., & Chang, V. W. (2018) · British Journal Of Nutrition · doi:10.1017/s0007114518001046 · Cited by 475 · see citing works
Srour, B., Fezeu, L. K., Kesse-Guyot, E., Allès, B., Debras, C., Druesne-Pecollo, N., Chazelas, E., Deschasaux, M., Hercberg, S., Galan, P., et al. (2020) · JAMA Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.5942 · Cited by 465 · see citing works
Schnabel, L., Kesse-Guyot, E., Allès, B., Touvier, M., Srour, B., Hercberg, S., Buscail, C., & Julia, C. (2019) · JAMA Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.7289 · Cited by 390 · see citing works
Popkin, B. M. (2017) · Nutrition Reviews · doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuw064 · Cited by 341 · see citing works
Self-citationContribution of ultra-processed foods in the diet of adults from the French NutriNet-Santé study.
Julia, C., Martinez, L., Allès, B., Touvier, M., Hercberg, S., Méjean, C., & Kesse-Guyot, E. (2018) · Public Health Nutrition · doi:10.1017/s1368980017001367 · Cited by 235 · see citing works
Ultra-processed foods and the limits of product reformulation
Scrinis, G., & Monteiro, C. A. (2018) · Public Health Nutrition · doi:10.1017/s1368980017001392 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
Schnabel, L., Buscail, C., Sabate, J.-M., Bouchoucha, M., Kesse-Guyot, E., Allès, B., Touvier, M., Monteiro, C. A., Hercberg, S., Benamouzig, R., et al. (2018) · American Journal of Gastroenterology · doi:10.1038/s41395-018-0137-1 · Cited by 173 · see citing works
The food retail revolution in China and its association with diet and health
Zhou, Y., Du, S., Su, C., Zhang, B., Wang, H., & Popkin, B. M. (2015) · Food Policy · doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2015.07.001 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
Self-citationGoals in Nutrition Science 2015–2020
Allison, D. B., Bassaganya-Riera, J., Burlingame, B., Brown, A. W., le Coutre, J., Dickson, S. L., van Eden, W., Garssen, J., Hontecillas, R., Khoo, C. S. H., et al. (2015) · Frontiers in Nutrition · doi:10.3389/fnut.2015.00026 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Processed and Packed: How Refined Are the Foods That Children Bring to School for Snack and Lunch?
Blondin, S. A., AlSukait, R., Bleiweiss-Sande, R., Economos, C. D., Tanskey, L. A., & Goldberg, J. P. (2021) · Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · doi:10.1016/j.jand.2020.07.017 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
- Authors
- Poti, J. M., Mendez, M. A., Ng, S. W., & Popkin, B. M.
- Affiliations
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Corresponding author
- Popkin, Barry M
- Venue
- The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-06
- Volume
- 101
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1251-1262
- ISSN
- 0002-9165 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4441809
- OpenAlex
- W1922739744
- Cited by
- 525
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 27 · 2025: 46 · 2024: 64 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 75 · 2021: 55 · 2020: 54 · 2019: 57 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 42 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 13
- FWCI
- 34.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (67506, 68793, 70017, 71837)
- NIH (R01DK098072, CPC 5 R24 HD050924)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
- Keywords
- food processing, convenience foods, household food purchasing, nutritional value, saturated fat, sugar, sodium, ready-to-eat foods, fast-moving consumer goods, dietary intake trends, United States households
- MeSH terms
- Beverages, Energy Intake, Carbohydrates, Data Collection, Diet, Family Characteristics, Fatty Acids, Food Handling, Longitudinal Studies, Nutritive Value, Sodium, Dietary, United States, Logistic Models, Fast Foods
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
