ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition, Psychology and Brain Health
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1675892
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Synergistic Effects of Nutrition and Physical Activity on Cognitive Function and Mental HealthView all articles
The independent and combined associations between the intake of ultra-processed foods, sedentary behavior, and depressive symptoms in Young adults
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Public Health, Bengbu medical University, Bengbu, China
- 2School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
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Background: Ultra-processed food (UPF) intake and sedentary behavior (SB) are recognized as significant contributors to depressive symptoms. However, the joint effects of these two factors on depressive symptoms remain insufficiently explored. This study aimed to investigate the independent and combined associations of UPF intake and SB with depressive symptoms in a young population. Methods: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted using baseline survey data from the Shenzhen Youth Health Cohort. UPF intake, SB, and depressive symptoms were self-reported via questionnaires. Multifactorial logistic regression models were employed to assess the independent and joint associations between UPF intake, SB, and depressive symptoms. Results: A total of 1461 participants were included, with 610 (41.8%) reporting depressive symptoms and 851 (58.2%) without. Compared with the group with the lowest UPF supply ratio (Q1), the risk of depressive symptoms was significantly higher in the third (Q3) and fourth (Q4) quartiles, with odds ratios (95% CI) of 1.60 (1.16-2.21) and 2.05 (1.48-2.85), respectively. Similarly, individuals with SB exceeding 8 hours per day had a significantly increased risk of depressive symptoms compared to those with SB of less than 4 hours per day (OR=1.75, 95% CI: 1.25-2.44). In the combined analysis, participants with high UPF intake and sedentary time ≥6 hours per day exhibited the highest risk of depressive symptoms compared to those with low UPF intake and sedentary time <6 hours per day (OR=2.31, 95% CI: 1.62-3.31). Conclusion: Higher intake of UPF and increased SB were significantly associated with depressive symptoms in the young population. Additionally, the combination of high UPF intake and sedentary time exceeding 6 hours per day was associated with a further heightened risk of depressive symptoms.
Keywords: Ultra-processed food, sedentary behavior, depressive symptoms, combined effects, Young population
Received: 29 Jul 2025; Accepted: 25 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ren, Zhou, Li, Zhang, Xu, Chi and Xie. 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:
Xinli Chi, xinlichi@126.com
Hong Xie, xh@bbmu.edu.cn
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