Eating out intensity, ultra-processed foods and body mass index among Albanian youth.

Our findings provide evidence for the hypothesis that eating OH plays an important role in the association of UPFs and UMPFs with BMI in youth. While causality cannot be established due to cross-sectional design, to the best of our knowledge, we provide the first assessment of UPFs and UMPFs intake in a south-eastern European setting, while highlighting the need for establishing and integrating youth nutrition into national nutritional surveillance systems for key dietary risk factors in Albania.