Recent research data published in the Heart journal indicated that taking fried food increases the risk of stroke and major heart disease. The analysis of the data shows that the risk increases with an additional 114g fried food consumption per week.

Fried food could cause cardiovascular problems  

Although it is known that the western diet isn’t good for cardiovascular health, it is still unclear what fried food’s contribution is on increasing stroke and serious heart disease risk, according to researchers. The researchers pooled data from 17 studies involving around 562,445 subjects and 36,727 major cardiovascular events like stroke and heart attack to assess the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Also, data from six studies was pooled which involved 754,873 subjects and 85,906 deaths over an average of 9.5 years. The researchers assessed the possible connection between fried food intake and risk of cardiovascular disease death any cause.

The analysis found that compared to individuals with low fried food consumption per week, those that consumed more had a 28% higher risk of cardiovascular events, with 37% increase heart failure risk and 22% heightened coronary heart disease risk. Most importantly, these correlations were true when stratified by the different participants and study characteristics. Interestingly, there was a linear correlation between heart failure, coronary heart disease, and cardiovascular events, and fried food intake. The risks increased 12%, 2%, and 3% respectively following an additional 114g fried food weekly serving.

Relationship between fried foods and cardiovascular disease unclear

However, most studies only considered one fried food type such as fried potatoes, fish, or snacks instead of total fried food consumption. The researchers suggested that this might underestimate the associations witnessed.  There was no correlation for deaths from any cause or cardiovascular disease, which is due to the relatively small numbers involved.

Unfortunately, the mechanism through which fried food intake contributes to cardiovascular disease development is not clear. But, it could be that frying produces chemical by-products leading to inflammatory response or they boost energy intake due to their fat content this generating harmful Trans fatty acids.