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Lipids and cardiovascular/metabolic health

Fast food consumption and the risk of metabolic syndrome after 3-years of follow-up: Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 67, pages 1303–1309 (2013)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background:

There are growing concern globally regarding fast food consumption and its related cardiometabolic outcomes. In this study we investigated whether fast food consumption could affect the occurrence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) after 3-years of follow-up in adults.

Methods:

This longitudinal study was conducted in the framework of Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study on 1476 adults, aged 19–70 y. The usual intakes of participants were measured using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire at baseline. Biochemical and anthropometric measurements were assessed at baseline (2006–2008) and 3 years later (2009–2011). Multiple logistic regression models were used to estimate the occurrence of the MetS in each quartile of fast food consumption.

Results:

The mean age of participants was 37.8±12.3 y, and mean BMI was 26.0±4.5 kg/m2 at baseline. Participants in the highest quartile of fast food consumption were younger (33.7 vs 43.4 years, P<0.01). Higher consumption of fast food was accompanied with more increase in serum triglyceride levels and triglyceride to HDL-C ratio after the 3-year follow-up. After adjustment for all potential confounding variables, the risk of metabolic syndrome, in the highest quartile of fast foods compared with the lowest, was 1.85 (95% CI=1.17–2.95). The effects of fast food consumption on the occurrence of MetS were more pronounced in younger adults (<30 years), and participants who had greater wait to hip ratio, consumed less phytochemical-rich foods or had low-fiber diet (P<0.05).

Conclusion:

We demonstrated that higher consumption of fast foods had undesirable effects on metabolic syndrome after 3-years of follow-up in Iranian adults.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the TLGS participants and the field investigators of the TLGS for their assistance in physical examinations, biochemical and nutritional evaluation and database management. This study was supported by grant 121 from National Research Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The authors wish to thank Ms N. Shiva for critical editing of English grammar and syntax.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nutrition and Endocrine Research Center, and Obesity Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Z Bahadoran & F Hosseini-Esfahani

  2. Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    P Mirmiran

  3. Endocrine Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    F Azizi

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Correspondence to P Mirmiran.

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Bahadoran, Z., Mirmiran, P., Hosseini-Esfahani, F. et al. Fast food consumption and the risk of metabolic syndrome after 3-years of follow-up: Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study. Eur J Clin Nutr 67, 1303–1309 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2013.217

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