Regularly Eating Western Fast Food Increases Risk for Diabetes and Heart Disease

When it comes to fast food, do you go for burgers and fries or dumplings and noodles? Well, if you opt for the former, you might want to consider switching over to the Asian fast food camp.

An study recently published in the journal Circulation tracked the health and eating habits of more than 60,000 Singaporeans over a period of about a decade. Researchers found that even those who lead otherwise healthy lives suffer a greater risk of diabetes and an increased risk of dying from heart disease when they eat US-style fast food like burgers and fries on a regular basis. These risks, however, did not appear changed for those who regularly ate Asian fast foods like noodles, dumplings, and dim sum.

According to Reuters.com, researchers first interviewed the study participants in the 1990s, then tracked them for about 10 years. Of the several thousand participants, 1,397 died of heart disease, and 2,252 developed type 2 diabetes. Comparing the statistics of those who ate little or no fast food, researchers learned that there was a 27-percent higher risk of developing diabetes and a 56-percent higher risk of death from heart disease in those who ate fast food two or more times a week. Participants who ate US-style fast food four or more times a week suffered an 80 percent hike in risk of cardiac death.

In contrast, Asian-style fast food was found to have no association with increased risks for diabetes or cardiac death.

“Many cultures welcome (Western fast food) because it’s a sign they’re developing their economics,” lead author Andrew Odegaard from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health is quoted as saying on Reuters.com. “But while it may be desirable from a cultural standpoint, from a health perspective, there may be a cost.”

So you may want to figure that cost in the next time you're going for a late-night munchie run and go for dim sum instead of french fries.


(Photo by Jaryl Cabuco | Fitted.Life via Flickr Creative Commons)