• Who doesn’t love French Fries? Research suggests it may lead to Anxiety, Depression

    Health
    Who doesn’t love French Fries? Research suggests it may lead to Anxiety, Depression

    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.



    color:#2E2E2E">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.