Research from Harvard Medical School, published in the journal ‘Pediatrics’, shows that adolescents who eat large amounts of fried food away from home are heavier and more likely to have a poor-quality diet. Among 14,355 children surveyed over three years, researchers found that 9 to14 year olds, who increased their intakes of fried food away from home over the course of a year, gained weight above the normal rate. Adolescents in the study, who indulged in fries, chips, and other such fried eats more frequently, reported higher total caloric intakes, intakes of saturated and trans fats, sugar-sweetened beverages, red and processed meats, and higher glycaemic loads. They also ate fewer foods like fruits and vegetables. At the beginning of the study, 3.5% of girls and 6% of boys reported eating four to seven servings of fried food away from home per week. Overall, girls and boys that were 13 to 14 years old ate more fried food away from home than 9-to-12-year-olds. At the end of the three-year study, the proportion of girls and boys who ate four to seven servings per week had more than doubled, to 7.5% and 12.7%, respectively.
The study suggests that eating fried food away from home is associated with dietary patterns leading to excessive weight gain (e.g., drinking sugar-sweetened beverages) and chronic diseases, such as heart disease (e.g. high consumption of trans and saturated fats), cancer (e.g. low consumption of fruits and vegetables), and type 2 diabetes (e.g. high glycaemic load). The findings nudge doctors and parents to develop effective interventions to prevent excessive weight gain during adolescence.