A study of over 3,000 black and white American adults has revealed that fast food leads to weight gain and the development of diabetes symptoms if eaten too regularly. The study group reported on their dining habits over the course of 15 years, in a study that will be published in the Lancet.
Arne Astrup, writing in an accompanying editorial, “appropriate action would be to reduce portions to normal sizes, and to sell burgers of lean meat, whole-grain bread or buns, fat-reduced mayonnaise, more vegetables, lower-fat fried potatoes, and reduced-sugar soft drinks.”
Those people who ate fast food more than twice weekly put on 10 more pounds during the course of the study than those people who ate fast food less than once a week.
Diabetes is extremely widespread in American, with over a million new cases diagnosed on a yearly basis according to the American Diabetic Association. Over 6 per cent of American adults suffer from diabetes, but in older age groups even more people suffer from the disease.
The team conducting the study also highlighted lifestyle choices beyond fast food, including alcohol, physical inactivity and more television. A less healthy diet remains the key stimulus to the onset of obesity and diabetes, however.
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