05 Mar Frequent Fried Food Consumption Linked To Increased Heart Failure

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Luc Djousse, MD, ScD, FAHA
Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Editor-in-Chief, Current Nutrition Reports
Director of Research, Division of Aging
Brigham and Women’s Hospital Boston, MA 02120

MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Dr. Djousse: While some studies have reported a higher risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, or high blood pressure with frequent consumption of fried foods, other investigators did not confirm those results. To date, only few studies have evaluated whether frequent consumption of fried foods can raise the risk of developing heart failure. Frying foods not only increases the energy density of foods, but also increase the amount of trans fats. Trans fats can lead to development of heart disease and diabetes and consumption of energy-dense foods in large quantity can lead to weight gain and resulting cardiovascular consequences.

We followed about 15000 US male physicians who were free of heart failure for an average of 10 years and found that frequent consumption of fried foods was related to a higher risk of developing heart failure. For example, people that consumed fried foods daily or more were twice more likely to develop heart failure than individuals who consumed fried foods less than once per week.

MedicalResearch: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Djousse: Our results suggest that infrequent consumption of fried foods might be the way to go. No more than  1-2 times per week while watching the portion size. Emphasis should be placed on other methods of food preparation such as steaming, boiling, or grilled foods  while avoiding deep frying or heating oils at extreme temperatures. Like any dietary advice, the overall quality of diet should be considered (i.e., a diet that is high in fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains but low in saturated fat, red meats, salt, and fried foods).

MedicalResearch: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Djousse: It is noticeable that our study did not answer all the questions we want to know: for example, we were not able to assess the influence of type of frying (pan vs. deep frying), heating oil temperature, type of oil used for frying (olive oil, butter, margarine, etc), or quantity of fried foods consumed due to a lack of information in our study. Future studies should address those gaps among others.

Citation:
The more fried food consumed, the bigger the heart failure risk

Research presented at the American Heart Association EPI/Lifestyle 2015 meeting

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Luc Djousse, MD, ScD, FAHA (2015). Frequent Fried Food Consumption Linked To Increased Heart Failure 

Last Updated on March 5, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD