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A higher proportion of ultraprocessed food in the diet is generally associated with poorer dietary quality and, among adults, a somewhat higher prevalence of overweight and obesity. This is shown by a study that also critically examines the concept of ultraprocessed foods.

The study was conducted at the University of Gothenburg in collaboration with the Swedish Food Agency, using data from the agency's national dietary surveys. The study population included adults (18–80 years old), adolescents (11–17 years old) and young children (1.5–4 years old).

The objective was to determine what share of the population's energy intake comes from ultraprocessed foods, while also highlighting the challenges associated with how such foods are defined within the internationally established classification system NOVA.

The NOVA system classifies foods containing additives, as well as certain industrially manufactured products, as ultraprocessed, regardless of their nutritional content. Consequently, this category encompasses a wide range of items, from soft drinks and cured meats to breakfast cereals and industrially produced whole-grain bread.

The study's results show significant variation depending on whether a broad or narrow definition within the framework of the NOVA classification system was applied. According to one classification, ultraprocessed foods accounted for an average of 45% of energy intake among adults, 52% among adolescents and 46% among young children.

Under a stricter NOVA-based classification, in which foods with ambiguous status were not counted as ultraprocessed, the estimates ranged between 23% and 29% of total energy intake.

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