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In the News, Spring 2023: Fast Food and Fatty Liver Disease

A study from Keck Medicine of USC (University of Southern California) found that consumption of fast food is associated with increased risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), especially in obese or diabetic people. Affecting over 30% of the US population, NAFLD, also known as liver steatosis, is a disorder in which fat builds up in the liver, potentially leading to cirrhosis and subsequent liver cancer or failure.
Using data from 3,954 adults enrolled in the 2017-18 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the researchers determined that people with obesity or diabetes who acquired at least 20% of their daily calories from fast food had severely elevated levels of liver fat, compared with those who had lower or no fast-food intake. Among the general population, people who consumed 20% or more of their calories from fast food had moderate increases in liver fat.
Fast food was characterized as meals, including pizza, from drive-thrus or other restaurants without wait staff. Lead author Ani Kardashian, MD, observed: “Our findings are particularly alarming as fast-food consumption has gone up in the last 50 years, regardless of socioeconomic status.” In fact, over 29% of those surveyed consumed one-fifth or more of their daily calories from fast food.
Sources: Consumption of fast food linked to liver disease. Keck Medicine of USC, January 10, 2023. news.keckmedicine.org/consumption-of-fast-food-linked-to-liver-disease.
Kardashian A, Dodge JL, Terrault NA. Quantifying the negative impact of fast-food consumption on liver steatosis among United States adults with diabetes and obesity. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2023; doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2022.11.040.
Published in the Journal of Health and Healing™
Spring 2073 | Volume 46, Number 1
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