Skip to main content

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Int J Public Health

Volume 70 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/ijph.2025.1607712

This article is part of the Call for papers THE IMPACT OF ULTRA-PROCESSED FOOD CONSUMPTION ON HEALTH IN LOW- AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES View all 5 articles

Ultra-processed food consumption among College Students and their association with Body Composition, Bowel Movements and Menstrual Cycle

ANINDITA Ghosh ANINDITA Ghosh 1,2*Arti Muley Arti Muley 3
  • 1 Symbiosis School of Biological Sciences, Symbiosis International University, Pune, India
  • 2 Symbiosis Skills and Professional University, Pune, Maharashtra, India
  • 3 Symbiosis International University, Pune, Maharashtra, India

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objectives:The current research aimed to explore the association of ultra-processed food consumption among college students with body composition, bowel movements, and menstrual irregularities with a focus on females.A cross-sectional study was conducted in Pune, India among 110 university students of both genders aged 18-25 years. A developed and validated Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) based on the NOVA classification evaluated UPF consumption, while the Constipation Scoring System (CSS) and the Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool assessed bowel habits and menstrual health, respectively. Anthropometric measurements, including BMI, body fat percentage ,and visceral fat were recorded using an Omron Karada Analyzer.A higher percentage of participants were female (74.8%). Most participants (52.3%) consumed more than three meals daily, while 42.1% ate outside food 2-3 times per week. Higher UPF consumption showed a trend toward increased body fat (p=0.053) and was significantly associated with greater visceral fat accumulation (p<0.05).Higher UPF consumption showed a trend toward increased body fat percentage, though not statistically significant. These findings highlight the need to reduce UPF intake to mitigate risks of adiposity and metabolic disturbances.

    Keywords: Ultra-processed food choices, body composition, Body Mass Index, bowel movements, Irregular menstrual cycle

    Received: 30 Jun 2024; Accepted: 24 Mar 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Ghosh and Muley. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: ANINDITA Ghosh, Symbiosis School of Biological Sciences, Symbiosis International University, Pune, India

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.