Unhealthy Food and Psychological Stress: The Association between Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Perceived Stress in Working-Class Young Adults

Matheus Lopes Cortes, José Andrade Louzado, Marcio Galvão Oliveira, Vanessa Moraes Bezerra, Sóstenes Mistro, Danielle Souto Medeiros, Daniela Arruda Soares, Kelle Oliveira Silva, Clávdia Nicolaevna Kochergin, Vivian Carla Honorato dos Santos de Carvalho, Welma Wildes Amorim and Sotero Serrate Mengue
Additional contact information
Matheus Lopes Cortes: Multidisciplinary Health Institute, Federal University of Bahia, Rua Hormindo Barros, 58, Quadra 17, Lote 58, Bairro Candeias, Vitória da Conquista, 45029-094 Bahia, Brazil
José Andrade Louzado: Multidisciplinary Health Institute, Federal University of Bahia, Rua Hormindo Barros, 58, Quadra 17, Lote 58, Bairro Candeias, Vitória da Conquista, 45029-094 Bahia, Brazil
Marcio Galvão Oliveira: Multidisciplinary Health Institute, Federal University of Bahia, Rua Hormindo Barros, 58, Quadra 17, Lote 58, Bairro Candeias, Vitória da Conquista, 45029-094 Bahia, Brazil
Vanessa Moraes Bezerra: Multidisciplinary Health Institute, Federal University of Bahia, Rua Hormindo Barros, 58, Quadra 17, Lote 58, Bairro Candeias, Vitória da Conquista, 45029-094 Bahia, Brazil
Sóstenes Mistro: Multidisciplinary Health Institute, Federal University of Bahia, Rua Hormindo Barros, 58, Quadra 17, Lote 58, Bairro Candeias, Vitória da Conquista, 45029-094 Bahia, Brazil
Danielle Souto Medeiros: Multidisciplinary Health Institute, Federal University of Bahia, Rua Hormindo Barros, 58, Quadra 17, Lote 58, Bairro Candeias, Vitória da Conquista, 45029-094 Bahia, Brazil
Daniela Arruda Soares: Multidisciplinary Health Institute, Federal University of Bahia, Rua Hormindo Barros, 58, Quadra 17, Lote 58, Bairro Candeias, Vitória da Conquista, 45029-094 Bahia, Brazil
Kelle Oliveira Silva: Multidisciplinary Health Institute, Federal University of Bahia, Rua Hormindo Barros, 58, Quadra 17, Lote 58, Bairro Candeias, Vitória da Conquista, 45029-094 Bahia, Brazil
Clávdia Nicolaevna Kochergin: Multidisciplinary Health Institute, Federal University of Bahia, Rua Hormindo Barros, 58, Quadra 17, Lote 58, Bairro Candeias, Vitória da Conquista, 45029-094 Bahia, Brazil
Vivian Carla Honorato dos Santos de Carvalho: Multidisciplinary Health Institute, Federal University of Bahia, Rua Hormindo Barros, 58, Quadra 17, Lote 58, Bairro Candeias, Vitória da Conquista, 45029-094 Bahia, Brazil
Welma Wildes Amorim: Department of Natural Sciences, State University of Southwest of Bahia, Estrada Bem Querer, Km-04, 3293, Bairro Candeias, Vitória da Conquista, 45083-900 Bahia, Brazil
Sotero Serrate Mengue: Post-Graduate Program in Epidemiology, School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Ramiro Barcelos, 2400, Bairro Santa Cecilia, 90035-002 Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 8, 1-10

Abstract: Background: Ultra-processed foods are industrial formulations made from food extracts or constituents with little or no intact food and often containing additives that confer hyper-palatability. The consumption of these products increases the risk of chronic non-communicable diseases. Stressed people may engage in unhealthy eating as a way to cope. This study aimed to verify whether ultra-processed food consumption was associated with perceived stress levels in industrial and retail workers from Vitoria da Conquista, Brazil. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out between July 2017 and August 2018. During the study period, 1270 participants completed a survey administered by an interviewer. Stress levels were assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale. Information regarding weekly ultra-processed food consumption was collected. Ultra-processed foods were classified into four groups: sugary drinks; sugary foods; fast foods; and canned foods, frozen foods, or processed meat. The Student’s t -test or one-way analysis of variance was used to assess the differences in stress levels and ultra-processed food consumption. Ordinal regression was used to determine the association between the degrees of stress and ultra-processed food consumption levels. Results: Factors such as a young age, being unmarried, smoking, high-risk alcohol consumption, negative health perception, and high perceived stress level indicated higher rates of ultra-processed food consumption. Ordinal regression analysis showed that high stress levels were associated with increased odds of higher ultra-processed food consumption (odds ratio: 1.94; 95% CI: 1.54–2.45). Conclusions: These findings could help identify appropriate target areas for interventions aimed at mental health promotion and healthier food consumption.

Keywords: stress; psychological stress; ultra-processed foods; eating; eating behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/8/3863/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/8/3863/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:8:p:3863-:d:531439

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().