Eating context and ultraprocessed food consumption among UK adolescents

We aimed to evaluate the association between eating context patterns and ultraprocessed food consumption at two main meal occasions in a representative sample of UK adolescents. Data were acquired from 4-d food records of adolescents aged 11-18 years, who participated in the 2014-2016 UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (n 542). The eating context was assessed considering the location of the meal (lunch and dinner) occasion, the individuals present, whether the television was on and if the food was consumed at a table. Ultraprocessed foods were identified using the NOVA classification. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify eating context patterns for lunch and dinner. Linear regression models adjusted for the covariates were utilised to test the association between eating context patterns and the proportion of total daily energy intake derived from ultraprocessed foods. Their contribution was about 67 % to energy intake. Three patterns were retained for lunch ('At school with friends', 'TV during family meal' and 'Out-of-home (no school)'), and three patterns were retained for dinner ('Watching TV alone in the bedroom', 'TV during family meal' and 'Out-of-home with friends'). At lunch, there was no significant association between any of the three patterns and ultraprocessed food consumption. At dinner, the patterns 'Watching TV alone in the bedroom' (coefficient: 4·95; 95 % CI 1·87, 8·03) and 'Out-of-home with friends' (coefficient: 3·13; 95 % CI 0·21, 6·14) were associated with higher consumption of ultraprocessed food. Our findings suggest a potential relationship between the immediate eating context and ultraprocessed food consumption by UK adolescents.