Why Living In A Fast Food Neighborhood Puts You at a Higher Risk for Stroke

If you live in an area where can’t go more than a couple of blocks without running into a fast-food establishment, you might be in a mess of trouble. A new study performed by the University of Michigan suggests that people who live in a neighborhood heavily populated by fast food restaurants are 13 percent more likely to suffer from a stroke than those who live in areas where the restaurants are not so predominant. Yikes! Read on to find out more about this frightening discovery . . .

Many people today are aware of the dangers of fast food, and unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years you are too. What the University study implies is that those who live in neighborhoods with endless fast food options are more likely to patronize these restaurants and eat foods that contain trans fats and saturated fats. These dangerous fats are significantly responsible for clogging your arteries, which is a precursor to stroke. 

In addition to the danger of trans and saturated fats, many of the foods in fast food restaurants are loaded with sugars and simple carbohydrates. These can lead to obesity and diabetes, two other precursors to stroke. 

Individuals who live in areas where fast food establishments abound are more likely to partake in the offerings of those restaurants than those who live in areas that are more rural and do not have fast food at their disposal. Many fast food chains are practicing “urban marketing” plans where they target people who live in poor neighborhoods. Their reasoning is that people in these neighborhoods may be more inclined to eat off their menu because their foods are both filling and inexpensive.

A number of leading fast food chains even offer a special “inexpensive” menu comprised of unhealthy foods and use it as part of their advertising campaigns. Although there are laws passed in certain states and cities prohibiting the sale of trans fats, some restaurant chains have not removed trans fats from their items. They seemingly refuse to do so despite the fact that these harmful fats have been proven to lead to obesity, heart disease and diabetes. 

To support the correlation even more, statistics show that the increase in diabetes in the urban population has more than doubled in the past 20 years. Many in the medical community believe this is due to the fact that individuals who live in urban communities fill their diets with fast food menu items that fill them up but don’t cost a lot of money. 

It all comes down to this: obesity, diabetes and a blockage in your arteries can all lead to stroke . . .and can all be caused by the ingestion of too many saturated and trans fats. In order to cut your risk of stroke, you need to maintain a healthy weight, eat foods that are low in unhealthy fat, sodium and sugar, and stay away from fast foods. Even so-called “healthy” fast food items are loaded with sodium and preservatives to allow for easy storage and mass production.

So, if you live in a “fast food neighborhood” you will be much better off skipping a stop at the golden arches and instead stopping at your local grocery store. By doing so you can make your own healthy choices and avoid the problems that result from eating fast food.