Inpatient dietary exposure to ultra-processed foods

The themed oral presentations at the Irish Society of Gastroenterology Summer Meeting 2025 covered some fascinating topics that included eating disorders and hospital admissions, gender disparity in gastrointestinal (GI) advanced endoscopy, as well as capsule endoscopy and patency testing, among other areas.

This session saw an oral presentation titled ‘Inpatient dietary exposure to ultra-processed foods’, delivered by Dr Conor Byrne, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin. Dr Byrne and his colleagues from Beaumont Hospital and the RCSI looked at the consumption of ultra-processed food among inpatients on a gastroenterology ward.

‘Ultra-processed foods’ are defined as industrial formulations extracted from, derived from or synthesised from food substrates or other sources that have been associated with adverse cardio-metabolic outcomes and obesity.

The team found that the majority of food available to inpatients on a gastroenterology ward is ultra-processed. “This is the case across all available menus,” said the authors.

Among the results, they showed that 62.29 per cent of foods available on the regular menu; 68.57 per cent on the renal menu; 54.17 per cent of the minced and moist menu; 58.63 per cent of the soft and bite-sized menu; 62.16 per cent of the easy-to-chew menu; and 66.67 per cent of the snacks were ultra-processed foods. “Urgent work is required to improve the availability of unprocessed and minimally-processed foods across all menus and adaptations for inpatients,” the researchers wrote.

Attendees also heard a presentation by Dr Susanne M O’Reilly, St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, which looked at gender disparity in GI advanced endoscopy. Dr O’Reilly and colleagues conducted a study titled ‘Gender disparity in GI advanced endoscopy: A global perspective’. The international team – with members from a wide range of countries including Egypt, the US, Switzerland, South Africa, and Italy –  stated that females remain under-represented in advanced endoscopy and that no study has so far looked at potential barriers to solving this issue. “Family commitments and perceived gender bias remain significant barriers to female endoscopists pursuing a career in advanced endoscopy worldwide,” they wrote. “Further study of this within Ireland is important in order to improve training uptake.”

Another presentation noted the problem of GI disease in cystic fibrosis (CF). In a talk titled ‘GI disease in cystic fibrosis: A growing concern’, Dr Amro Ratna, St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, and colleagues sought to review and analyse GI diagnoses among a cohort of patients diagnosed with CF.

The life expectancy of patients with CF has substantially increased over the past decade, primarily due to the use of CF transmembrane conductance regulators. However, these have little effect on GI manifestations in CF, and this is set to become an increasing problem as our population ages.  “There is a wide spectrum of GI disease, both luminal and liver, seen in CF at significantly higher rates than in the general population,” they reported. “Regular screening, medication reviews, and modification of risk factors where possible are essential to reducing morbidity in this complex population.”