Excess consumption of highly processed foods may be associated with lower diet quality and obesity prevalence, but few studies have examined these relationships in children from low-income households. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between food consumption by processing category, diet quality as measured by the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) and body mass index (BMI) in a sample of low-income children. Data from a study assessing the impact of Summer Food Service participation on diet quality and weight status (N = 131) was used to conduct a cross-sectional analysis of children aged six to twelve years from low-income communities in the Northeastern U.S. Total HEI-2015 score and percentage of calories consumed by processing level were computed per day from three 24-h diet recalls. Multivariable linear regression was used to assess the relationship between percentage of calories from foods by processing category (unprocessed and minimally, basic, moderately and highly processed), HEI-2015 and BMI-z score. The final sample was 58% male and 33.8% obese. On average, children consumed 39.8 ± 17.2% of calories from highly processed foods. A 10% increase in calories consumed from highly processed foods was associated with a 2.0 point decrease in total HEI-2015 score [95% CI (-2.7, -1.2)], and a 10% increase in calories from minimally processed foods was associated with a 3.0 increase in HEI-2015 score [95% CI (2.1, 3.8)]. Relationships between processing level and BMI-z score were not significant. Among this sample of low-income children, greater intake of highly processed foods was associated with lower dietary quality, but not weight status. Future research should explore prospective associations between food consumption by processing category and weight status in children.

中文翻译：

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在低收入和种族多样化的小学生样本中，加工食品消费与饮食质量有关，但与体重状况无关

过度消费高度加工食品可能与较低的饮食质量和肥胖流行有关，但很少有研究在低收入家庭的儿童中检查这些关系。因此，本研究的目的是评估低收入儿童样本中按加工类别划分的食物消费、通过健康饮食指数-2015 (HEI-2015) 衡量的饮食质量和体重指数 (BMI) 之间的关系。 . 一项评估夏季食品服务参与对饮食质量和体重状态影响的研究数据（N = 131）用于对美国东北部低收入社区的 6 至 12 岁儿童进行横断面分析。 -2015 年的分数和加工水平消耗的卡路里百分比是从三个 24 小时饮食回忆中计算出来的。多变量线性回归用于评估按加工类别（未加工和最低限度、基本、中等和高度加工）、HEI-2015 和 BMI-z 评分的食物卡路里百分比之间的关系。最终样本为 58% 的男性和 33.8% 的肥胖者。平均而言，儿童从高度加工食品中消耗了 39.8 ± 17.2% 的卡路里。高度加工食品消耗的卡路里增加 10% 与 HEI-2015 总分下降 2.0 分相关 [95% CI (-2.7, -1.2)]，而最低限度加工食品的卡路里增加 10% 相关HEI-2015 得分提高了 3.0 [95% CI (2.1, 3.8)]。加工水平与BMI-z评分之间的关​​系不显着。在这个低收入儿童样本中，大量摄入高度加工食品与较低的饮食质量有关，但不是体重状态。未来的研究应该探索不同加工类别的食物消费与儿童体重状况之间的前瞻性关联。