Lauria F, Russo MD, Formisano A, et al. - Researchers sought to provide a description of the consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in the large population of children, adolescents and adults from eight European countries who took part in the I.Family study, and to explore the connection between UPFs intake and nutritional quality of the diet. A 24-h dietary recall was used to assess dietary intake. The Healthy Dietary Adherence Score used an FFQ to assess the diet's quality. Almost half of the 7,073 participants' daily energy intake came from UPFs, and this trend decreased progressively with age. Fruit and vegetable, fish, and fibre-rich foods were consumed infrequently in the fifth quintile of UPF intake, both in adolescents and adults. Consumption of high-calorie, low-nutritional-value foods, operationally defined as "junk food," was significantly higher in the fifth quintile. In the population of the European I.Family study, UPFs contributed a significant proportion of daily energy intake, particularly in children and adolescents. A higher intake of UPFs was linked to a lower dietary quality.