Journal Article

Integrative development of a short screening questionnaire of highly processed food consumption (sQ-HPF)

Garcia-Rios, Antonio, Khoury, Nadine, Vidal, Josep, Vázquez, Clotilde, Bes-Rastrollo, Maira, Konieczna, Jadwiga, Guillem-Saiz, Patricia, Malcampo, Mireia, Estruch, Ramón, Gonzalez-Palacios, Sandra, Vaquero-Luna, Jessica, Basterra, Javier, Bernal-López, María Rosa, Matía-Martín, Pilar, Barón-López, Francisco Javier, Tojal-Sierra, Lucas, Zulet, María Angeles, Climent-Mainar, Cristina, Serra-Majem, Lluis, Santos-Lozano, José Manuel, Alonso-Gómez, Ángel M., Ros, Emilio, Zomeño, María Dolores, Babio, Nancy, Tur, Josep A., San-Cristobal, Rodrigo, Sánchez, Vicente Martín, Martinez, Jose Alfredo, Daimiel, Lidia, Wärnberg, Julia, Martínez-González, Miguel Ángel, Ordovás, José M., Pintó, Xavier, Corella, Dolores, Vioque, Jesús, Martinez, Maria Angeles, López-Miranda, José, Abete, Itziar, Schröder, Helmut, Bueno-Cavanillas, Aurora, Saiz, Carmen, Tinahones, Francisco J., Salas-Salvadó, Jordi, Lapetra, José, Delgado-Rodríguez, Miguel, Martinez-Perez, Celia, Romaguera, Dora, Ruiz, Zenaida Vázquez, Pérez-Vega, Karla Alejandra

2022

Overview

Background Recent lifestyle changes include increased consumption of highly processed foods (HPF), which has been associated with an increased risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). However, nutritional information relies on the estimation of HPF consumption from food-frequency questionnaires (FFQ) that are not explicitly developed for this purpose. We aimed to develop a short screening questionnaire of HPF consumption (sQ-HPF) that integrates criteria from the existing food classification systems. Methods Data from 4400 participants (48.1% female and 51.9% male, 64.9 ± 4.9 years) of the Spanish PREDIMED-Plus (“PREvention with MEDiterranean DIet”) trial were used for this analysis. Items from the FFQ were classified according to four main food processing-based classification systems (NOVA, IARC, IFIC and UNC). Participants were classified into tertiles of HPF consumption according to each system. Using binomial logistic regression, food groups associated with agreement in the highest tertile for at least two classification systems were chosen as items for the questionnaire. ROC analysis was used to determine cut-off points for the frequency of consumption of each item, from which a score was calculated. Internal consistency of the questionnaire was assessed through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Cronbach’s analysis, and agreement with the four classifications was assessed with weighted kappa coefficients. Results Regression analysis identified 14 food groups (items) associated with high HPF consumption for at least two classification systems. EFA showed that items were representative contributors of a single underlying factor, the “HPF dietary pattern” (factor loadings around 0.2). We constructed a questionnaire asking about the frequency of consumption of those items. The threshold frequency of consumption was selected using ROC analysis. Comparison of the four classification systems and the sQ-HPF showed a fair to high agreement. Significant changes in lifestyle characteristics were detected across tertiles of the sQ-HPF score. Longitudinal changes in HPF consumption were also detected by the sQ-HPF, concordantly with existing classification systems. Conclusions We developed a practical tool to measure HPF consumption, the sQ-HPF. This may be a valuable instrument to study its relationship with NCDs. Trial registration Retrospectively registered at the International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Registry ( ISRCTN89898870 ) on July 24, 2014.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Behavioral Sciences / Body mass index / Classification / Clinical Nutrition / Diet / Diet, Mediterranean / Eating behavior / eating habits / factor analysis / Fast Foods / Female / Females / Food / Food consumption / Food Handling / Food processing-based classification / Health aspects / Health Promotion and Disease Prevention / Highly processed food / Humans / lifestyle / Lifestyles / Male / males / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Mediterranean diet / Noncommunicable Diseases / NOVA / nutrition information / Nutrition research / Nutrition surveys / PREDIMED-Plus / Processed foods / Public health / Questionnaire / Questionnaires / regression analysis / risk / Surveys / Surveys and Questionnaires / Ultra-processed food