Association between ultra-processed food consumption and perceived stress among teaching professionals: a gender-stratified cross-sectional study from Urban India.

BACKGROUND: Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have become deeply embedded in contemporary dietary patterns, particularly among urban working populations. Concurrently, perceived stress especially in high-demand occupations such as teaching has emerged as a significant public health concern. Understanding the relationship between UPF consumption and perceived stress is essential for designing targeted nutritional and mental health interventions. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the association between ultra-processed food consumption and perceived stress levels among teaching professionals, with specific attention to gender-related differences in dietary behavior and stress experience. METHODS: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 549 teaching professionals from educational institutions across urban India. UPF consumption was quantified using a validated 20-item binary-scored instrument aligned with the NOVA classification system. Participants were stratified into Low ( ≤ 8 items; n = 149), Moderate (9-12 items; n = 241), and High (≥13 items; n = 159) UPF consumption groups. Perceived stress was assessed using the validated 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). Analytical methods included Welch-corrected independent samples t-tests, Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses, simple and multivariable linear regression. RESULTS: Mean PSS-10 scores increased progressively across Low (2.77 ± 0.54), Moderate (3.01 ± 0.36), and High (2.97 ± 0.32) UPF consumption groups. Welch-corrected t-test demonstrated significantly higher perceived stress in the High versus Low group [t(236.67) = -3.95, p < 0.001; Cohen's d = 0.70). Pearson correlation revealed a significant positive association (r = 0.210, p < 0.001; R2 = 0.044), confirmed by Spearman's ρ = 0.178 (p < 0.001). Multivariable regression showed UPF consumption remained significantly associated with perceived stress after adjustment for age, gender, and BMI (β = 0.175, p = 0.003). Female teachers reported significantly higher perceived stress than males across all UPF strata (β = 1.42 PSS points, p = 0.020). CONCLUSION: Higher UPF consumption was significantly but modestly associated with elevated perceived stress among teaching professionals. The observed association is consistent with mechanistic pathways described in prior experimental literature, including gut-brain axis disruption and neuroendocrine dysregulation; however, these mechanisms were not empirically tested in the present study. Female educators demonstrated disproportionately higher stress burden. Findings support incorporating dietary behavior as a modifiable target within occupational wellness strategies for educators. Longitudinal, biomarker-inclusive, and gender-stratified research is warranted to establish directionality, test inflammatory and gut-brain mechanisms, and develop evidence-based occupational wellness interventions.