As you probably know by now, fast food is associated with terrible liver-related outcomes. Here’s more about the issue below.
Fast food and your liver’s health
Many serious health issues are caused by a poor diet, with fast food often cited as one of the leading factors behind liver disease. Although fast food is convenient, inexpensive, and tastes good, it poses a significant risk to our health.
Research shows that regularly consuming fast food can lead to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which results from excess fat accumulation in the liver due to unhealthy food intake, being overweight, and having high cholesterol levels or diabetes.
While nonalcoholic fatty liver disease can have serious consequences, such as liver cirrhosis or scarring, it can be reversed with sensible lifestyle changes if acted upon quickly.
According to a recent study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, fast-food consumption has been linked to liver steatosis, which is the accumulation of fat in tissues.
The study used data from the 2017–18 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the largest annual nutritional survey in the nation.
The study categorized fast food as meals from drive-through restaurants or restaurants without wait staff, including pizza.
The study included fatty liver measurements of approximately 4,000 adults. These measurements were compared to their fast-food consumption.
Out of those surveyed, 52 percent consumed some fast food. Of those who consumed fast food, 29 percent consumed one-fifth or more of their daily calories from it. The study found that 29 percent of survey participants experienced a rise in liver fat levels.
The relationship between eating fast food and liver steatosis held true even after adjusting for factors including age, sex, ethnicity, race, physical activity, and alcohol use.
“Our findings are particularly alarming as fast-food consumption has gone up in the last 50 years, regardless of socioeconomic status,” said Dr. Ani Kardashian, lead author of the study.
“We’ve also seen a substantial surge in fast-food dining during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is probably related to the decline in full-service restaurant dining and rising rates of food insecurity. We worry that the number of those with fatty livers has gone up even more since the time of the survey.”
Check out more details about the interesting findings in the original notes.
