A team of researchers in Hangzhou, China, found that frequent consumption of fried foods, especially fried potatoes, was linked to a 12% higher risk of anxiety and a 7% higher risk of depression compared to those who did not eat fried foods.
This link was more pronounced among young men and younger consumers. Fried foods are known risk factors for obesity, high blood pressure and other health effects. According to the paper published Monday in the journal PNAS, these results “pave the way for the importance of reducing fried food consumption for mental health”.
However, nutrition experts said the results are preliminary and it is not clear whether fried foods cause mental health problems or whether people who experience symptoms of depression or anxiety turn to fried foods.
The study evaluated 140,728 people over 11.3 years. After excluding participants diagnosed with depression in the first two years, a total of 8,294 cases of anxiety and 12,735 cases of depression were found in those who consumed fried foods, with fried potatoes in particular causing a 2% increase in the risk of depression compared to fried white meat.
French Fries and Depression: New Research Shows French Fries May Be Linked to Depression
The study also found that participants who regularly consumed multiple servings of fried foods were younger men. Dr. David Katz, an expert in lifestyle medicine who was not involved in the study, said in an emailed statement, “The human component of this study may show exactly what it claims: more fried food intake increases the risk of anxiety/depression.”
“However, the causal pathway could just as readily go the other way: people with anxiety/depression turn to ‘comfort food’ with increasing frequency for some semblance of relief,” added Katz, founder of the nonprofit True Health Initiative, a global coalition of experts dedicated to evidence-based lifestyle medicine.
Those with underlying symptoms of anxiety and depression may turn to comfort foods as a way to self-medicate, he said. Unhealthy food and poor diet can lower one’s mood and exacerbate a mental health condition, as found in a previous study cited in this new study.
In the new study, researchers suggest that acrylamide, a chemical formed during the frying process, particularly in fried potatoes, is responsible for a higher risk of anxiety and depression. In a separate paper cited in the new study, researchers exposed zebrafish to the chemical and found that prolonged exposure caused the fish to live in dark areas within the tank, a common sign of a higher level of anxiety in fish.
Although zebrafish are known to form schools with their own kind, their ability to socialize was also reduced because they were not swimming in close proximity to other zebrafish.
“Zebrafish were presumably chosen … because they were already known to be vulnerable to acrylamide toxicity, and because their behavioral responses to anxiety are established and consistent — offering a source of both biological and behavioral data,” Katz said.
Dr. Walter Willett said the results “should be considered very preliminary, especially in terms of the link with fried foods and acrylamide.”
References: Nicioli, T. (2023, April 24). New research suggests that french fries may be linked to depression | CNN. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/24/health/fried-food-anxiety-depression-risk-wellness/index.html
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