A new study that comes from the University Of Michigan reveals a direct association between fast food restaurants and stroke. The study was conducted in Nueces County Texas. It showed that individuals residing in areas where fast food restaurants are abundant appear to have an increased chance of suffering from a stroke than those that live in an area where those eateries are not as wide spread. Previously, fast food consumption has been linked to higher incidences of heart disease, obesity, diabetes and liver damage. The research also showed a one percent increased risk of stroke for each individual fast food eatery in the area. The results of the data were posted on a white board and shown during the International Stroke conference 2009 which took place on Thursday.
Dr. Morgenstern has commented on the results of the study. “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 neighborhoods.” Morgenstern also wants to find out whether there is something completely unique in these counties that is has caused the poor health. He says that areas with lots of fast food joints should be targeted for programs on stroke prevention.
Researchers guided by Dr. Lewis Morgenstein, Director of the stroke program at the University Of MMichigan, have been tracking the incidence of strokes occurring in Nueces County, Texas. For the current data, they looked at 1,247 ischemic strokes reported in the communities from January 2000 until June 2003. They also identified 262 restaurants identified as fast food eateries in the county.The neighborhoods with the least amount of fast food establishments also had the least incidence of stroke, even after socioeconomic factors and demographics were looked at more closely.
The researchers have concluded that the study has revealed “a significant association between fast food restaurants and stroke risk” but they are quick to add that more studies need to be conducted to fully understand the link. Further studies will be done to examine the link between fast food and stroke.
Fast food is often associated with excessive calories, high fat including trans fats, high sodium and lacks nutrition. While these establishments still offer many of these types of choices many of these places are offering healthier options since studies have started to reveal the health risks of fast food.
its all about the SALT. food laced with sodium chloride or even monosodium glutamate will push marginally hypertensive individual’s blood pressure right off the top of the scale. slack, lazy, fattened individuals are just the type who make stroke events a common occurence. learn from the asians who eat better, smarter, healthier. we must ‘cut to the beef’ of this problem, or Amerika will become the Asian doctors specialty ward for cerebral care.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that fast food restaurants cause strokes. Think about this for a second guys. Fast Food Restaurants are more prevalent in lower-income areas, usually, these areas have a higher percentage of African Americans (that is a stat), and African Americans (naturally) have a higher likelyhood of getting a stroke. Of course Fast Food Restaurants are bad. Can you please find something new to talk about.
Casey, THANK YOU! Someone with a brain made a very correct comment here
Cause of strokes: atherosclerosis
Cause of atherosclerosis: arterial plaques
Cause of plaques: excessive lipoproteins in bloodstream
Cause of lipoproteins: fatty diet
Cause of fatty diet: fast food restaurants.
The case is as closed as our arteries!
Had the study made some additional measurements, it most likely would have revealed a below average IQ and education level for the neighborhood residents as well as greater than average drug use including tobacco and a higher than average birth rate with a higher than average number of out of wedlock birts. We could go on and on. Low intelligence combined with ignorance far more closely approximates a root cause than any of the other factors.
Since the same people that rant about fast food are also in a panic about global warming, I would point out that any humman element associated with the latter is most directly linked to an excess of people. Eradicate a majority of humans and you eliminate the root source of human caused global warming. Doing so is certainly feasible, the necessary technology already exists, and if push comes to shove, it probably will be used. In the meantime, why would you want to increase longevity in the first place, and especially among those most prone to over populate and do studid things? Fast food is a key weapon in the fight against global warming!
Cause of fatty diet is choosing to eat at a place that has fatty food on the menu. Those bad choices are influenced by corporate advertisers from those same fast food restaurants that planned to have their store at that location because they knew you would drive by…. A better solution is to make better choices about what to do before your hunger over-rides your logic.
What kind of voodoo statistics call this a “direct” association? Consider the age of the typical stroke patient and the age of the typical fast food consumer. The fast food patrons may be under 20. The stroke patient’s ages may be over 50. Where fast food places in proximity when those patients were in their 20s? Did they continue eating fast food? There is a huge gap between data collected and at risk age groups in general. Few studies do the time adjustment essential to draw meaningful correlations. If fast food restaurants use demographics to be located where there are more teenagers, chances are, those teenagers have grandparents or middle age parents. The fast food places may follow an age group that would have health risk anyway.