healthmedicinet

Fast food isn’t the only culprit in the country’s growing obesity epidemic, a study from UCLA claimed earlier this year. But before letting McDonald’s and Co. completely off the hook, consider this: For every mile that participants in a recent University of Texas study lived from the closest fast-food restaurant, researchers noticed that there was a 2.4 percent decrease in their BMI.

The discovery, made by a team from the MD Anderson Cancer Center and published in the American Journal of Public Health, reveals the potential impact of neighborhood environment on residents’ body fat — particular low income, African-American residents like the 1,400 Houston women who participated in the study.

“The results of this study add to the literature indicating that a person’s neighborhood environment and the foods that they’re exposed to can contribute to a higher BMI,” said lead study author Lorraine Reitzel, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Health Disparities Research at MD Anderson, in a release.

“There’s something about living close to a fast food restaurant that’s associated with a higher BMI,” she added, pointing to “behavioral economics” as a key factor in the decision to choose fast food over a healthier choice.

According to Reitzel, people who are pressed for time behave in such a way that will cost them the least amount of time to get things done, an approach that may extend to their food choices, particularly the affordable convenient kind being offered by fast-food chains.

To test the theory, Reitzel and her team examined the density of fast food restaurants within a half mile, one mile, two miles and five miles around each participant’s home. What they found: That closer proximity was associated with a higher BMI not only among those of lower income, but in the group with the higher incomes as well. The data also showed that every additional mile participants’ lived from the closest fast food restaurant was associated with a 2.4 percent lower BMI.

And while Reitzel’s research is one of the first to look at the impact of fast food restaurants on obesity rates among blacks, findings published in the journal Critical Public Health last week reveal that the connection exists regardless of race.

According to an international team of health experts who looked at the number of Subway restaurants per 100,000 people in 26 economically advanced countries, the density of fast-food outlets is positively associated with the prevalence of obesity across 26 advanced economies in both men and women.

Subway now has more outlets than McDonald’s, the report notes.

Related on HuffPost:

Fast Food Ingredients: What’s Lurking In Your Eats?

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• Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA)

  strongFound In: /strongThe ranch sauce at Carl’s Jr./Green Burrito

  strongWhat It Is:/strong A preservative used in food, animal feed and cosmetics that the National Toxicology Program of the Department of Health and Human Services considers to be a likely human carcinogen.“It has caused cancer in animal studies, and over the years, companies have significantly moved away from it since there are other ways to maintain shelf life and prevent rancidity,” says scientist Michael Jacobson, Ph.D., founder of the nutrition watchdog group Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). “It shouldn’t be allowed in the food supply.” But it still shows up every so often, like in the ranch sauce at Carl’s Jr./Green Burrito restaurants.

• Caramel Coloring

  strongFound In:/strong Sodas, taco fillingand the fries at Long John Silver

  strongWhat It Is:/strong A group of dyes that are made from many different chemicals and foods. Some are harmless, notes Jacobson. But others — mainly those derived through a process that uses sugar and ammonia — contain a chemical called 4-methylimidazole that’s been linked to an increased risk of lung cancer in mice in some National Toxicology Program studies.The tough thing is that you can’t tell just by reading the labels — they’re all called the same thing. “Soft drinks are far and away the biggest user of this particular type of caramel color,” says Jacobson. “We would like to see companies be more specific on labels about which one they’re using.”

• Yellow 5 And 6

  strongFound In:/strong The peach tea and Cinnabon rolls at Burger King

  strongWhat It Is:/strong Artificial colorings used in items like baked goods and drinks that are suspected of increasing hyperactivity in kids.The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the dyes for use in food. But former food industry analyst Robyn O’Brien, author of ema href=”http://amzn.to/136OWFh” target=”_blank”The Unhealthy Truth/a/em, points out that food makers have started removing these dyes voluntarily from products sold in the U.K. The impetus: A large British studyfound a link between certain artificial dyes, including Yellow 5 and 6, and hyperactivity –and customers caused a stink.

• Acesulfame Potassium

  strongFound In:/strong Some diet drinks, such as Diet Dr. Pepperand Coke Zero

  strongWhat It Is: /strongAn artificial sweetener often used alongside aspartame (Equal/Nutrasweet) or sucralose (Splenda) to make diet sodas taste better.“There’s less current research on acesulfame than other sweeteners, but I’m concerned about that one,” says Jacobson. “The research that was done in the 1970s indicated problems, and I think if it were retested, there’s a good chance it would show up as causing cancer.” Acesulfame potassium — also listed on ingredient labels as acesulfame k or Sunnett — has been approved by the FDA since the late 80s, but because it contains the known carcinogen methylene chloride, food scientists have since asked for more research to be done.
  strongWorth Noting:/strong Acesulfame is found in the fountain version of Diet Dr. Pepper at McDonald’s, but not the bottled version sold in stores.

• Sodium Nitrite

  strongFound In:/strong McDonald’s Egg McMuffin

  strongWhat It Is:/strong A flavoring and preservative used in cured meats, including bacon, hot dogs and ham. It’s on the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s list of food additives to avoid because of years of concerns about a possible increased risk of cancer. “It’s probably quite a small risk, but almost all of these foods are also high in sodium or saturated fat,” says Jacobson. “The nitrite can almost be a signal that a food is not healthful.” A large European study recently found that people who ate a lot of processed meats — which often contain sodium nitrite — had a higher risk of heart disease and cancer.

• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

  strongFound In:/strong KFC Chicken Breast Strips

  strongWhat It Is:/strong A seasoning that used to be infamous for use in Chinese food, but now can be commonly found in fried chicken strips and sauces at some fast food restaurants. It’s listed by CSPI as an additive that “some people should avoid”–namely, those who get headaches when they eat it. Two related substances that may have the same effect on those MSG-sensitive people are hydrolyzed vegetable protein or autolyzed yeast extract, according to Jacobson.

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