Living near fast food restaurants in South Asia may increase risk of Typediabetes

Date:
April 26, 2022
Source:
PLOS
Summary:
Globally, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus is
increasing. A new study suggests that living near fast food
restaurants increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Globally, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is
increasing. A study publishing April 26 in the open access journal
PLOS Medicine by Marisa Miraldo at Imperial College Business School,
London, United Kingdom, and colleagues suggests that living near fast
food restaurants increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.


==========================================================================
Food environments have an impact on diet and obesity-two risk factors
for T2DM.

However, the relationship between food environments and diet in low-
and middle-income countries is poorly understood. To examine the
associations between the density and proximity of healthy and unhealthy
food outlets and diabetes, researchers linked cross-sectional health data
with environment mapping surveys for 12,167 people living in Bangladesh
and Sri Lanka from 2018- 2020. They collected self-reported diabetes
diagnosis histories and fasting blood glucose levels from residents
of urban and rural districts. The researchers then mapped the food
environment, collecting data on location and types of food retailer
available within 300 meters of each participant's home, categorizing
each type of food outlet as healthy or unhealthy.

The researchers found that a higher density of fast food outlets near an individual's home was associated with an 8% increase in their probability
of a diabetes diagnosis. Having at least one fast food retailer in the proximity of one's home was associated with 2.14 mg/dL blood glucose
increase. Additionally, women and high-income earners were more likely to
have higher diabetes mellitus levels. The study was limited by several
factors, including the self-reported data on diabetes diagnoses. The
study also did not account for the actual diets of participants, which
may have been sourced far from their homes, and may be confounded by
other variables associated with diabetes. Future studies are needed to
validate and expand on how food environments may impact individuals'
diets and health.

According to the authors, "Our results show interventions targeting
the environment may be effective in preventing diabetes, however, the heterogeneity of the effects found in our analysis suggests that more
specific interventions may be needed. One-size-fits-all built environment interventions have not led to improved outcomes and future research is
needed to evaluate which food environment interventions could improve
diabetes outcomes in this geographical region and population." "In South
Asia diabetes affects 1 in 11 adults and causes 747,000 preventable
deaths per year," Miraldo adds. "Our research shows living in proximity
to at least one fast food outlet is associated with a 16% increase in
the chance of being diagnosed with diabetes. With the number of people
with diabetes in Southeast Asia projected to reach 113 million by 2030,
it is imperative food and beverage companies and retailers step up their sustainability agendas to promote better diets and prevent diabetes."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by PLOS. Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Dian Kusuma, Petya Atanasova, Elisa Pineda, Ranjit Mohan Anjana,
Laksara
De Silva, Abu AM Hanif, Mehedi Hasan, Md. Mokbul Hossain, Susantha
Indrawansa, Deepal Jayamanne, Sujeet Jha, Anuradhani Kasturiratne,
Prasad Katulanda, Khadija I Khawaja, Balachandran Kumarendran,
Malay K Mridha, Vindya Rajakaruna, John C Chambers, Gary Frost,
Franco Sassi, Marisa Miraldo. Food environment and diabetes mellitus
in South Asia: A geospatial analysis of health outcome data. PLOS
Medicine, 2022; 19 (4): e1003970 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003970 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220426153619.htm

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