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What if there were more than just nutritional recommendations to keep your heart healthy? According to American scientists, where you live is a risk factor for developing heart failure if you live close to a fast food restaurant or a store serving ready-made food.
Memory lapses, depressive state or even sleep problems, scientists have warned in numerous studies of the consequences of fast food, and junk food in general on the body. We talk less about the effects on the heart, and yet they are not non-existent to the extent that chips, burgers and other ready-made meals often contain excess salt, causing an increase in blood pressure. We tire the walls of the arteries and in the long term, we can develop cardiovascular diseases. And contrary to what would be logical to think, changing your diet would not be the only solution. Environmental factors should be taken into account more broadly, in this case the precise place where we live. How far do you live from a fast food chain, if not from a bar or a store where it is easy to buy ready-made food? The question may seem superfluous, and yet American researchers have clearly established a link between the risk of heart failure and greater proximity and density of certain types of catering.
Heart failure: 10% more risk if you live less than 2 km from a fast food restaurant
In a study relayed by the Traffic magazine, doctors from the American Heart Association specify that consumers living less than 500 meters from a fast food restaurant had a 10% increased risk of suffering from heart failure compared to those who lived further away (more than two kilometers). Remember that this pathology occurs when the heart muscle is no longer able to pump enough blood to provide the body with the necessary oxygen needs. “Few studies have evaluated the relationship between heart failure and the dietary environment, the authors note. This study is likely the first to evaluate the association between dietary environment and heart failure in a long-term observational setting.“, emphasize the researchers in a statement.
Moreover, the conclusions are very explicit to say the least and indicate that the risk of suffering from heart failure is 16% higher when you live in an area densely populated by restaurants, bars, cafeterias, pubs and fast food restaurants. More concretely, this concerns those who have 11 or more stores in a one kilometer area.
Diabetes, obesity, heart failure… Fast foods far from innocent
To be as precise, scientists followed more than 500,000 British people for twelve years, thanks to the UK Bank, a database bringing together the medical information of all these patients. The researchers thus analyzed their exposure to the risks of heart failure according to three types of food environments, namely pubs or bars, restaurants or cafeterias as well as fast food chains. “Exposure to ‘ready-to-eat’ food environments is associated with risks of other disorders, such as Type 2 diabetes And obesitywhich can increase the risk of heart failure” explain the authors.
Faced with this conclusion, we wonder about the motivation to frequent this type of restaurant, despite the nutritional recommendations. In other words, does the nearby presence of a fast food restaurant make us more inclined to succumb to the temptation of a burger? “When it comes to eating habits, we often adopt the behaviors of those around us […] If we live in an area saturated with fast food and alcohol, it stands to reason that we may be more likely to indulge in these options” explains dietician Caroline Thomason in the Food and Wine magazine.