Restaurant meals may raise diabetes risk - study

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By David Liu  davidl at foodconsumer dot org

Eating restaurant-prepared meals too often may increase risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in the Dec 16, 2009 issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Types 2 diabetes is a major medical problem in Western Nations.  The disease is believed to affect as estimated 20 million Americans, according to the U.S. Government.

Believing that dietary practice has a profound impact on the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus, Julie R Palmer and colleagues at Boston University analyzed data from the prospective Black Women's Health Study to see if there is any correlation between consumption of restaurant meals and incidence of type 2 diabetes among African American women.

Forty four thousands of participants aged 30 to 69 who were free of diabetes at baseline were surveyed through mailed questionnaires every two years since 1995 for their consumption of restaurant meals of various types.

During the 10-year follow-up, 2873 incidence cases of type 2 diabetes were identified.

The researchers found consumption of restaurant-meals of hamburgers, fried chicken, fried fish and Chinese food were independently associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

Compared to those who did not eat any restaurant meals, Black women who reported eating hamburgers twice per week were at a 40 percent increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

Those who ate two meals per weeks of fried chicken were at 68 percent increased risk of type 2 diabetes, compared to those who ate none, the study found.

However, when body mass index was included in the analysis, the estimated risk was reduced, which the researcher said suggested that the correlations were mediated through weight gain and obesity.

It is a fact that restaurants use trans fat to prepare many types of meals including fried foods like fried chicken and fried fish.  Previous research has already found that trans fat is implicated in the development of diabetes among other things.

There is no safe threshold for intake of trans fat, but the Food and Drug Administration has warned that food consumers should not avoid all foods with trans fat, which could lead to deficiencies of nutrients because most of prepared foods or restaurant-served meals contain trans fat.

In addition to type 2 diabetes, another disease that has been associated with trans fat is heart disease.  Harvard nutritionists and epidemiologists estimated that as many as 100,000 deaths from heart disease each year in the U.S. have something to do with trans fat.

For more information on fried foods, read wikipedia

Photo from wikipedia