[Food consumption according to degree of processing and associated factors during the COVID-19 pandemic in Piauí, Brazil: population-based survey].

To investigate food consumption according to the degree of processing and associated factors in the state of Piauí, a population-based cross-sectional study with multi-stage cluster sampling was carried out. Sociodemographic and economic variables, as well as food consumption, were investigated using Pearson's chi-square test and prevalence ratio. Among the 2,104 participants (≥2 years of age), the highest consumption of natural and minimally processed foods was observed in people living in the capital (98.6%; 95%CI: 96.5-99.4), aged 20 to 59 years (94.1%; 95%CI: 91.9-95.7) and ≥60 years (92.6%; 95%CI: 88.1-95.5), black (95.0%; 95%CI: 90.7-97.4), with medium (92.9%; 95%CI: 89.0-95.5) and higher (95%; 95%CI: 91.2-97.2) education, family income >2 minimum wages (95.8%; 95%CI: 92.3-97.2) and who did not receive government benefits (95.2%; 95%CI: 83.4-91.0). In contrast, individuals aged 2 to 19 years (41.7%; 95% CI: 32.3-51.7) showed significantly higher consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF). These results highlight the need for public policies that promote healthy eating from childhood and expand access to quality foods, especially among the most economically vulnerable groups.