Women who eat more ultraprocessed foods more likely to have leptin resistance
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Women who eat more ultraprocessed foods are more likely to have leptin resistance and may have alterations in their gut microbiota, according to a study published in Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases.
“This work represents the first microbiome study to identify both species along with an overall gut microbial signature of diet quality markers using the NOVA classification and obesity-associated biometrics in women,” Ariana E. Fernandes, MS, a nutritionist in the department of endocrinology and metabolism, faculty of medicine at Hospital das Clinicas at the University of São Paulo, and colleagues wrote. “In addition to differences in gut microbiota, we found that higher ultraprocessed food consumption was positively related to leptin levels, which is related to leptin resistance. This condition is associated with pro-inflammatory conditions, neuroinflammation and metabolic disorders, which is in agreement with previous findings that showed an association between ultraprocessed food consumption and both obesity and other metabolic diseases.”
Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study with 59 women aged 18 to 40 years from January 2018 to January 2020 (mean age, 28 years). Anthropometric and metabolic parameters were collected. Participants completed three 24-hour food recalls, including two recalls on a weekday and one on a weekend day. NOVA classifications were used to categorize foods, with group one including unprocessed or minimally processed foods, group two including processed culinary ingredients, group three including processed foods and group four consisting of ultraprocessed foods. Fecal samples were collected at home and analyzed in a lab using next-generation sequencing.
Of the cohort, 20 women had obesity, 20 had normal weight and 19 were categorized as having constitutional leanness with a BMI of less than 18 kg/m2. The mean calorie intake was 1,624 kcal per day. Unprocessed foods accounted for 52.4% of total energy intake, processed foods comprised 10.4% of total energy intake, and ultraprocessed foods accounted for 31.4% of total energy intake. Leptin adjusted fat mass levels were lower among those eating more unprocessed or minimally processed foods (beta = –20.8; P = .037) and higher among those eating more ultraprocessed foods (beta = 19.55; P = .049).
In gut microbiota analysis, researchers found three species that were positively correlated with unprocessed or minimally processed foods, and 12 species that were negatively correlated. Additionally, five species were positively correlated with ultraprocessed food consumption and four were negatively correlated. Food consumption assessed by processing level was not correlated with microbiota diversity.
“It remains unclear whether the higher abundance of some species is consistently linked to healthier parameters, and more research is needed to understand how species-specific increases may affect different populations, because genetics and the environment are also important factors that modify the microbiota,” the researchers wrote. “Performing a more detailed taxonomic classification, including the level of strains, may help to explain the influence of ultraprocessed food or minimally processed foods on species that are beneficial or not beneficial to health.”
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