From Italy to the UK, which countries consume the most ultra-processed foods in Europe?

Which countries consume the most ultra-processed foods? When we talk about this type of food, our minds certainly turn to the United States. But also in Europe, these types of options are an important part of our diet.

That’s why we’ll look to our continent to find out which European countries are which. Those who consume most foods of this type To try to better understand this phenomenon. Will the Mediterranean diet free us from ultra-processed foods?

Ultra-processed foods, as you might guess from the name, are foods that have been heavily processed before they reach the consumer. There is no exact “standard” definition of the processes that ultra-processed foods are associated with, but there are some definitions that we can take as a reference, such as: from British Heart Foundation Or Nova classification, used by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).

Following this classification, the Food and Agriculture Organization defines ultra-processed foods as “a combination of ingredients, almost always exclusively for industrial use, which are typically created through a series of industrial techniques and processes.” Based on this classification, a group of researchers recently evaluated trends in the consumption of ultra-processed foods in different European countries.

and what did he say the study Who are the biggest consumers in Europe? Answer It depends on what we measure.. For example, if we consider the weight of ultra-processed foods in the total food consumed, the Netherlands stands out (20% of foods consumed by men in this country and 16.6% of foods consumed by women fall into this category). . category); as well as Sweden (22.9% among men and 20.9% among women), or the United Kingdom (17.2% among women).

The study also measured the weight of ultra-processed foods in terms of calories. Here again, the UK stands out (39.7% of calories consumed by men in this country come from ultra-processed foods, and 41.3% in women), and Sweden (40.6% in men and 43.8% in women).

On the other hand, we can find countries like: Estonia or Italy or RomaniaAgain, looking at the share of food consumed collectively, in the case of Italy, 6.4% of food consumed by men and 6.1% of food consumed by women fall into this category; in Estonia, the share is 6.7% for men and 5.7% for women.

As for the countries where ultra-processed foods represent a smaller proportion of calories, we have Italy (12.9% of calories consumed by men in this country come from ultra-processed foods, and 13.8% in the case of women) and Romania (14.6% in men and 15.8% in women).

And Spain?

The European average, in terms of mass, was 328 grams per day, or 12% of the total food consumed. Consumption in Spain in this sense was Something below average: 11.5% in men and 11.4% in women.

If we look at the calories consumed from these foods, the European average is 27.2% of calories consumed. Again, Spain is somewhat below average, with 25% for men and 25.3% for women.

The bad news is that Spain is among the countries that, according to the study, The faster it grows Consumption of ultra-processed foods. While the study of these trends notes a “modest” decrease in most countries (between 2% and 15%), countries such as Finland, the United Kingdom and Spain have seen an increase in consumption of this type of food.

The study was conducted by a team from the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium. It mainly used data provided by the Food Consumption Survey. Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database From the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). This survey asked participants what food they had consumed in the past 24 hours.

The team combined these measures with assessments of diet quality, body mass index, or prevalence of certain diseases. The study was Issued in 2022 In the magazine European Journal of Nutrition.

When we talk about ultra-processed rum in our diet, it is worth clarifying that not all of them have the same negative impact on our health. The suitability of a product ultimately depends on its ingredients.

The problem with these foods is that they are often rich in salts and sugars and provide the body with Low nutritional value Compared to the amount of calories he eats. But “often” is not “always,” so while the overall consumption of these foods may be useful as a guide, it doesn’t represent the whole picture.

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