(P08-023-24) Correlation Between Perceived Processing and Healthfulness of Ultra-Processed and Minimally Processed Foods: Perspectives From a National Sample of US Adults

Objectives: Despite ultra-processed foods (UPFs) receiving increasing media attention, little is known about how consumers perceive UPFs and whether greater perceived processing is correlated with lower perceived healthfulness of foods.

Methods: In November, 2023, we fielded a national online survey using CloudResearch, with adults aged ≥18 years (N=4,495). Participants were randomly presented 5 minimally processed foods (MPFs) and 5 UPFs (of 35 total foods) and rated the perceived processing level and healthfulness from 0 (not at all processed/not at all healthy) to 10 (very processed/very healthy). Foods were classified as healthy MPFs (e.g. blueberries), unhealthy MPFs (e.g. steak), healthy UPFs (e.g. peanut butter), and unhealthy UPFs (e.g. donuts). We used Pearson coefficients to examine correlation in mean processing/healthy scores within categories, and Welch’s t-tests to examine differences in mean scores.

Results: Over half of US adults believe UPFs are “food products submitted to a series of industrial processing” (54.2%), 51.7% believe UPFs are “food products that contain artificial ingredients,” and 23.9% stated they do not know what UPFs are. Most (73.8%) believe UPFs are not healthy, and 68.6% believe UPFs contribute to weight gain. Compared to MPFs, UPFs are perceived to be more highly processed (6.0 [SD 2.0] vs. 4.1 [SD 2.3], p< 0.001). Health perceptions of healthy UPFs were lower than healthy MPFs (6.7 [SD 2.2] vs 8.2 [SD 1.6], p< 0.001) and unhealthy UPFs were scored less healthy than unhealthy MPFs (5.6 [SD 2.2] vs. 6.1 [SD 2.3], p< 0.001). Correlation between mean processing and health perception scores were weak within each category: healthy MPFs (-0.11), unhealthy MPFs (-0.07), healthy UPFs (-0.11), and unhealthy UPFs (-0.15).

Conclusions: US adults believe UPFs are unhealthy and contribute to weight gain, and rank MPFs as healthier and less processed than UPFs; however, correlation between perceived processing and healthfulness of foods is weak, suggesting perceived processing is not strongly related to perceived healthfulness of foods. Further research is needed to understand this discrepancy, and implications for food choices and health.

Funding Sources: This research was supported by the NIDDK of the NIH. The presenting author was supported by a T32 from the NHLBI of the NIH.