That daily serving of fried chicken increases your risk of death by 13%

By MiNDFOOD

Fried Chicken in a bucket.
Fried Chicken in a bucket.

One or more servings of fried chicken a day is linked to a 13% higher risk of death from any cause, says a new study.

A new study has found that eating fried foods daily, especially chicken and fish, are associated with higher risk of dying from all causes except cancer.

Women who enjoyed fried chicken once or more per day had a 13% higher risk of death from any cause compared with women who did not eat any fried food, according to the study, published Wednesday in the medical journal BMJ. Women eating a daily portion of fried fish or shellfish saw a 7% greater risk of death.

Previous studies have found a link between eating fried foods and an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

“We know fried food consumption is something very common in the United States and also around the world. Unfortunately, we know very little about long-term health effect of fried food consumption,” explained the study’s lead author, Wei Bao, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Iowa.

The observational study is the first in the United States, to Bao’s knowledge, to look at the relationship between fried food consumption and mortality.

The new study examined the link between fried food and the risk of death from any cause, but in particular heart disease and cancer. Researchers followed the eating habits of 107,000 postmenopausal women in the United States ages 50 to 79 who enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative between 1993 and 1998. There was a follow-up with the women in February 2017.

Other factors related to mortality, such as education level, income, total energy consumption and overall diet quality, were taken into account in the team’s calculations.

Fried food’s link to health outcomes is the combined effect from the food itself and the frying process, Bao explained.

Fish can be helpful for cardiovascular diseases, so he expected a lower association between fried fish and mortality than the one seen in the study. “If you fry fish, it may turn a good thing into a harmful thing.

“Although there is an increased risk of eating fried food in terms of mortality, the risk is lower with low frequency,” Bao added.

Looking for an alternative to fried chicken, try our Chargrilled Chicken With Roasted Cabbage Wedges & Lime Hazelnut Dressing.

 

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