Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the presence of abdominal obesity and the consumption of ultra-processed foods (AU) in university adolescents. Methods: Cross-sectional quantitative study conducted with adolescents in Parnaíba-PI. Questionnaires were applied to obtain socioeconomic data and the 24-hour recall was used to obtain food consumption data. The anthropometric evaluation used the following parameters: weight, height, waist circumference and BMI / Age. The classification of AU used the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population and the data were evaluated by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 21.0. Results: 221 adolescents participated in the study and had a mean age (SD) of 18,3±0,7 years and 18,2 ±0,7 for males and females. Overweight was present in 19% and 11% of boys and girls while abdominal obesity was present in 18% of male adolescents and 8% of female adolescents. The percentage of contribution of AU was higher in energy intake, carbohydrates, sodium, total and saturated fat. Conclusion: Adolescents with abdominal obesity consumed more AU with a higher percentage of contribution from total and saturated fat. It is important that other studies be conducted to investigate abdominal obesity and its relationship with UA consumption to favor the development of specific and effective strategies.