Mean of blood pressure level, anthropometric measures, and health risks by UPFs group.
| Characteristics | Total(n = 360) | Low-moderate(n = 245) | High(n = 115) | p-value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | SD | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | ||
| Age (years) | 20.69 | 3.92 | 20.84 | 3.89 | 20.37 | 3.99 | 0.287 |
| SBP (mm Hg) | 107.38 | 11.91 | 107.40 | 11.65 | 107.35 | 12.52 | 0.828 |
| DBP (mm Hg) | 72.15 | 9.82 | 72.12 | 9.55 | 72.22 | 10.41 | 0.932 |
| Height (cm) | 163.09 | 8.65 | 163.70 | 9.02 | 161.80 | 7.67 | 0.034* |
| Weight (kg) | 65.49 | 16.34 | 66.03 | 15.91 | 64.37 | 17.24 | 0.171 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 81.86 | 14.06 | 81.10 | 13.40 | 83.47 | 15.31 | 0.275 |
| Hip circumference (cm) | 96.11 | 10.92 | 95.73 | 10.92 | 96.90 | 10.93 | 0.426 |
| BMI | 24.50 | 5.21 | 24.51 | 4.88 | 24.49 | 5.88 | 0.485 |
| WHtR and WHR | 0.68 | 0.20 | 0.70 | 0.19 | 0.66 | 0.23 | 0.23 |
| ABSI | 0.11 | 0.04 | 0.11 | 0.04 | 0.12 | 0.03 | 0.008* |
Mann-Whitney U test; *: significant if p-value < alpha (0.05). ABSI: A Body Shape Index; BMI: body mass index; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; SBP: systolic blood pressure; UPFs: ultra-processed foods; WHR: waist-to-hip ratio; WHtR: waist-to-height ratio.
This research paper is made possible through the generous funding of the Research and Publication Department (RPD) of the Colegio de San Juan de Letran-Manila. Moreover, gratitude is due to the College of Business and Administration and Accountancy (CBAA) and Letran Nutrition Clinic for the support and assistance they provided in the conduct of the study.
MB: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Investigation, Visualization. JCB: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing, Funding acquisition, Resources, Supervision, Investigation. SMN: Funding acquisition, Resources, Supervision, Investigation. BNE: Data curation, Investigation. KAV: Data curation, Investigation. AF: Data curation, Investigation. All authors read and approved the submitted version.
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
The study obtained approval from the Region II Trauma and Medical Center to ensure the study met the ethical guidelines (R2TMC-IRB Protocol No 2025:001). This study adhered to the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association) for research involving human subjects. This includes ensuring voluntary participation, obtaining informed consent, minimizing potential risks, maximizing potential benefits, and maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of participant data. The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the appropriate ethics committee.
Informed consent to participate in the study was obtained from all participants. Informed consent to participate in the study was obtained from the legal guardians of the adolescents.
Not applicable.
Data are available upon request to the corresponding author.
The study was funded by the Letran Research and Publication Department (RPD) as part of Research Faculty Grant 2024–2025 of Colegio de San Juan Letran Manila, Philippines. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
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