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Restaurant foods, soft drinks linked with obesity among young black women
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Recent study results show a correlation between eating hamburgers from restaurants, drinking sugar-sweetened soft drinks and obesity risk among young black women.
Researchers collected data from 19,479 black women aged 21 to 39 years with a BMI of 18.5 to 29.9 at baseline. From 1995 to 2009, the study participants reported their weight every 2 years. Dietary intake was assessed in 1995 and 2001 by self-administered questionnaires.
Sixteen percent of the study participants reported drinking at least one sugar-sweetened soft drink per day and 21% ate hamburgers from restaurants at least once per week. Researchers found that women who drank soft drinks or ate at restaurants frequently were heavier, less educated and physically active, and were more likely to smoke and drink alcohol.
Over the 14 year follow-up, 6,947 women became obese. Hamburgers were most strongly associated with an increased risk for obesity. However, fried chicken, pizza, and Chinese food were also significantly linked to obesity. Women who frequently drank soft drinks were more likely to become obese during the follow-up period.
“The identification of individual foods or beverages that are associated with weight gain provides a basis for specific and straightforward recommendations to help prevent obesity,” Deborah A. Boggs, ScD, from Slone Epidemiology Center, and colleagues wrote. “Awareness needs to be raised that even young women who have healthy weights are at risk of becoming obese if they frequently consume these food items.”
Disclosure: The researchers have no relevant financial disclosures to report.
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Boggs DA. Ethn Dis. 2013; 23(4): 445-451.
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