Fried food may also lead to obesity, high blood pressure and other health-related issues.
Digital Desk: Many people find solace
in the oily, starchy French fries. However, researchers believe that bingeing
on french fries may have a harmful influence on mental health. Researchers in
Hangzhou, China, discovered that eating fried foods, particularly fried
potatoes, is associated with unhappiness and anxiety.
According to CNN, persons who frequently consume fried food such
as French fries were 13% more likely to experience anxiety-related difficulties
and 7% more likely to experience depression than people who did not consume
fried food.
PNAS (Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America) published the
findings. The relationship was stronger among young men and younger customers.
Fried food may also lead
to obesity, high blood pressure and other health-related issues. The result
"opens an avenue in the significance of reducing fried food consumption
for mental health," according to the research.
However,
the experts said that the results were preliminary and it is not clear whether
fried foods were driving mental health issues, or whether people experiencing
symptoms of depression or anxiety turned to fried foods.
The
researchers evaluated 140,728 people over 11.3 years. After excluding
participants diagnosed with depression within the first two years, 8,294 cases
of anxiety and 12,735 cases of depression were found in those that consumed
fried food.
"The
human component of this study may indicate just what it purports: that a higher
intake of fried food increases the risk of anxiety/depression," Dr. David
Katz, a lifestyle medicine specialist who was not part in the study, told CNN.
According to Dr. Katz, persons suffering from anxiety and depression may turn to comfort eating as a form of self-medication.
