Associação entre o consumo de alimentos ultraprocessados e obesidade em crianças: uma revisão narrativa da literatura

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Childhood obesity, characterized by excessive accumulation of body fat, represents a global public health challenge, compromising development and increasing the risk of chronic diseases in adulthood. OBJECTIVE Analyze the relationship between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and childhood obesity, based on scientific evidence. METHODOLOGY: The research sought to identify and gather scientific analyses on this association, including articles published between 2015 and 2025, in Portuguese and English, addressing the theme in children with anthropometric data. After applying the criteria in databases such as PubMed, LILACS and SciELO, 10 studies composed the final sample of the review. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The studies indicate a clear and direct connection between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and the risk of obesity in children. Research showed that the consumption of ultra-processed foods represents almost half (47%) of the daily energy intake of the children evaluated. The consumption of ultra-processed foods including sugar-sweetened beverages and fast food was consistently associated with increases in adiposity indicators, such as elevated BMI z-score and waist circumference. In addition, the food environment, with the presence of fast-food chains and snack bars, favors the frequent consumption of meals outside the home, which proved to be a significant risk factor. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that our research emphasizes that the frequent consumption of these products corroborates the nutritional quality of the diet and favors weight gain from an early age, which can lead to significant health changes over time.