Consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods and Anthropometric Status of Adolescents in Aba North LGA Abia State, Nigeria.

Background: Ultra-processed foods are food and drink products that go through different types of food processing. They typically contain little or no intact foods, and are ready to eat and drink.Objective: This study assessed the consumption of ultra-processed food, drinks, and anthropometric status of adolescents in Aba North Local Government Area, Abia State, Nigeria.Methods: A cross-sectional survey using multistage sampling technique was conducted among 439 adolescents from in Aba North Local Government Area. A well-structured and validated questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio-economic status, frequency of consumption of ultra-processedfoods and anthropometric measurements of height and weight. Respondents were subjected to anthropometric measurements using standard technique. WHO Anthro plus was used to analyze anthropometric data. Data were analyzed for descriptive statistics and Chi-square using SPSS version 23.Results: The respondents comprised mostly of female adolescents (56.0%), while 44.0% were male.  Majority (65.4%) were within the ages of 16-19 years and 36.4% were within the ages of 12-15 years. Cakes were consumed daily by 65.6% of the respondents. Most of the respondents consumed soft drinks(74.7%), packaged breads (68.8%), cookies (71.8%) and instant noodles (59.9%) from time to time. About 77.6% of the female respondents were obese. More females (48.7%) were obese than males (28.9%). Also 5.3% of the respondents were overweight. There was a significant relationship between the consumption of margarine (p<0.000), sausage (p<0.000), chips (p<0.000), canned vegetables (p<0.000), pasta (p<0.000) and obesity.Conclusion: There was a significant association between the consumption of some ultra processed foods and obesity. There was a high prevalence of obesity amongst the respondents