A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that black women who ate fast food burgers or fried chicken at least twice a week were 40 to 70% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes over 10 years than women who never ate these high calorie foods.
Using data from the 44,072 participants in the Black Women’s Health Study, 2873 cases of type 2 diabetes occurred during 10 years of follow-up.
Researchers believe that the weight gain associated with eating too much high calorie fast food explains most of these diabetes cases; previous studies have shown that becoming overweight or obese greatly increases a person’s chance of developing type 2 diabetes.
Women who ate restaurant meals of hamburgers, fried chicken, fried fish, and Chinese food more than once a week had a higher body mass index (BMI) on average than women who claimed to never eat fast foods.
Study authors point out that this risk factor for type 2 diabetes may be readily modifiable by dietary changes.
SOURCE: Consumption of Restaurant Foods and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes in African American Women, Krishnan, et al, Am J Clin Nutr, December 16, 2009, doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.28682.