If you happened to see Good Morning America (ABC) this morning, you probably caught the story "Fast Food: The Fast Track to Organ Damage." Well, let's set the record straight on this typical overhyped story, since it once again represents irresponsible, sensationalist journalism, placing the blame somewhat incorrectly.
According to this story on Yahoo News, the problem is with food high in fat and carbs. In fact, the signs of liver damage were linked to carbs, not to sat fats (as one might normally expect). The article goes on to mention that "good cholesterol" levels (HDL) actually increased during the study, further confounding scientists. From that article:
Two of the individuals had liver steatosis, or fatty liver, in which fat cells build up dangerously in the liver, he said. Steatosis is associated with the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, which has taken on epidemic proportions, especially in industrialised countries.Published in the British Medical Association's journal Gut, the study "proves that high ALT levels can be caused by food alone," said Nystrom.
That signs of liver damage were linked to carbohydrates was another key finding, he said.
"It was not the fat in the hamburgers, it was rather the sugar in the coke," he said.
WebMD downplays this study even more, reinforcing the importance of a well-balanced diet that limits intake of saturated fats, pointing out that
"The study, published in the advance online edition of Gut, doesn't show which was more damaging -- bingeing on fatty food or being sedentary. And it doesn't mean that all fast-food meals are bad choices."
The reason the GMA story is shoddy journalism is two-fold. First, it tries to place blame on the industry, when ultimately it comes down to individuals making good decisions. The students in this low-population survey (which highlights the statistical insignificance of the study, btw) were asked to eat fast-food meals twice a day. But, more than that, they were clearly being asked to eat crappy, high-carb, high-fat meals twice a day. Also, they were told to be sedentary. The GMA story did not mention this aspect of the study.
Second, this goes out of its way to say that these results are not statistically significant enough to be conclusive and that they are really drawing conclusions that they don't fully understand. It is good news that this appears to be a weak attempt at a causation analysis, but there were simply too many factors/variables involved to make the results particularly condemning.
The bottom line, from a health & wellness perspective, is this: significantly limit your intake of foods high in saturated and trans fats, don't gorge yourself on high-sugar foods, and lead an active lifestyle. Walking as little as 30 minutes each day can make a tremendous difference in your wellbeing. Most importantly, though, is to not panic about what you're eating. Just use common sense.
