Fast food link to stroke rates

FAST FOOD restaurants are directly associated with higher stroke rates in their neighbourhood, research has shown.  Scientists found that the risk of stroke depended on how many takeaways operated in an area.  Residents of districts with the most fast-food outlets were 13 per cent more likely to suffer strokes than people living in localities with the fewest.

The relative risk of stroke increased by one per cent for each additional fast-food restaurant in a neighbourhood, the US researchers discovered.

The findings held true after statistical adjustments to take account of local population characteristics and socio-economic factors.
However, the researchers said the results did not prove that fast-food restaurants were causing strokes.

Study leader Professor Lewis Morgenstern, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, said: "The data shows a true association.

"What we don't know is whether fast food actually increased the risk because of its contents, or whether fast-food restaurants are a marker of unhealthy neighbourhoods."

The link between takeaways and stroke rates emerged from an ongoing investigation of strokes in Nueces County, Texas.

Researchers looked at 1247 strokes recorded over a three-year period after the start of the study in 2000.

Nueces County has 262 fast-food restaurants, defined by the scientists as having at least two of four characteristics: rapid food service, take-out business, few or no waiter staff, and payment required before the food is served.

The team used a census map to split the county up into 64 zones, providing proxies for neighbourhoods.

A count was taken of fast-food outlets in each zone, and the localities were then grouped into four brackets according to restaurant numbers.

Districts with fewer than 12 fast-food restaurants were in the "lowest" group and those with more than 33 in the "highest".

Prof Morgenstern said the association between fast-food restaurants and stroke risk should be further investigated in other areas.

"We need to start unravelling why these particular communities have higher stroke risks," he said. "Is it direct consumption of fast food? Is it the lack of more healthy options? Is there something completely different in these neighbourhoods that is associated with poor health?"

The findings were presented at the International Stroke Conference organised by the American Stroke Association in San Diego, California.

Strokes occur when the brain is damaged by a loss of blood supply due to a blockage or leak.

An estimated 150,000 people suffer strokes each year in the UK, more than 67,000 of whom die.  More than 300,000 Britons are living with moderate to severe disabilities caused by strokes, which incur a direct cost to the NHS estimated at £2.8 billion a year.