Study examines health effects of eating fast food

Eating fast food can lead to a fast exit, University of Minnesota researchers contend. And it’s as true in the East as it is in the West.

School of Public Health researchers found that people who consume fast food even once a week increase their risk of dying from coronary heart disease by 20 percent in comparison to people who avoid fast food, a news release from the university’s Academic Health Center said. The risk increases by 50 percent for those who eat fast food two to three times each week and by 80 percent for those who eat fast food four times or more per week.

Eating fast food two or more times a week also increased the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 27 percent.

The researchers reached their conclusion after examining the eating habits of residents in Singapore. Their findings were published online on Monday by the American Heart Association journal Circulation.

The few previous studies on the association of fast food and health risks focused almost exclusively on the United States, the researchers said. Lead researcher Andrew Odegaard said they wanted to look at a Southeast Asian population that has become a hotbed for diabetes and heart disease.

“What we found was a dramatic public health impact by fast food, a product that is primarily a Western import into a completely new market,” Odegaard said.