The devastating and grueling effects of eating fast food have long been discussed in America. There is proof with a documentary where a man ate the meals every day from McDonald's and ended up having to quit because of nearly dying from it.
America is one of the most obese countries in the world and it is because of the wide variety of fast food places. Money becomes a factor as well because low-income to middle-class individuals or families can get a cheap meal instead of buying expensive food from a restaurant or purchasing it from a supermarket.
Time also plays a role because in America people are always on the move and don't have that much time to eat. This opens the door to fast food consumption and recent studies have indicated what may happen to women if they eat it -- according to an article by Reuters.
The study
A study has shown that for women who eat fast food, it may be tougher for them to get pregnant. Evidence points to the fact that "Women who indulged four or more times a week before they conceived took almost a month longer to become pregnant, the study of 5,598 first-time mothers in Austrailia, New Zealand, and the UK found." So, women who typically ate fast food on a regular basis took longer to get pregnant. The study also used a large sample size to do the research.
The study was conducted by lead author Jessica Grieger of the Robinson Research Institute and the University of Adelaide in Australia. The researchers obtained the information that they needed by giving out dietary questionnaires that women completed during prenatal visits, asking them what they ate the month before getting the news that they were pregnant.
This method could be inaccurate though because of the fact that it relies on extreme memorization. It can be hard for people to remember what they ate a week ago, let alone knowing everything they ate for a month.
For women who did not eat fast food the chance of infertility was 8 percent, compared to 16 percent for women who ate fast food at least four times in a week.
It seems that the high concentration of both oil and fat at these places causes this occurrence. But typically, many women do not have trouble getting pregnant. According to the article, "Roughly 1 in 10 women of childbearing age have difficulty getting pregnant."
So what happens when women eat healthy instead of choosing to eat at Burger King, McDonald's, or other places? The results showed that for women who did not eat much fruit, "the risk of infertility was 12 percent," but for individuals with high fruit consumption, the risk was "at only 8 percent."
Other factors play a role
Fast food consumption is not the only factor, as those who smoke, drink excessively, experience stress, or are overweight could be at risk as well.
Also, people that exercise too much, and those with STDs may also be at risk.
That said, this link between diet and infertility proves that diet can play a role in terms of a woman's odds of conceiving.
