Does Eating Fast Food Make You Stupid?

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How many times per week to you find yourself hitting up the drive through at your local fast food place because you feel you are simply too busy for shopping and cooking? You aren’t alone. It is not uncommon to drive by those big double golden arches and see the drive through lined up with cars, many of those cars filled with children.

You should know that several studies have found a link between eating at fast food restaurants and a decline in test scores among children that are in grade school. The chemicals and fat in junk food actually change the body, resulting in lower test scores in math, science, and reading. This study, performed at Ohio State University, goes far beyond the typical belief that the only real danger of eating fast food is obesity.

Of course there is plenty of evidence that a diet high in junk foods and fast foods often leads to childhood obesity, but this type of diet can lead to how well children do in school. Read also how Western diet makes us tupid.

This study involved more than 11,000 students who stated that their consumption of fast food was quite high. These students were tested in science, math, reading and literacy. They answered lengthy questioners about their eating habits and types of food they regularly consumed.

About two-thirds of the subjects in this study stated that they ate fast food on occasion, but about 20 percent consumed a minimum of 4 fast food meals each week. This study, which was published in the journal Clinical Pediatrics, showed that when 5^th graders consumed fast food, they found lower levels of academic achievements in all 3 subjects by the 8^th grade, even when taking into account physical acitiity, television habits, and socioeconomics.

Although it’s true that this study definitely shows the impact that fast food has on children’s test scores, it doesn’t explain exactly what it is in fast foods that leads to these lower scores. Some studies suggest that it’s the lack of any real nutrition that is the problem. Without important memory supporting nutrition, such as iron, a diet high in fast food leaves the brain high and dry. These same studies also suggest that fast food diets, loaded with sugar and tons of trans-fat, hurt not only memory but can lead to learning abilities. Even the CDC states that iron is vital to a child’s diet. Children with a lowered immune function, slow social development, cognitive abilities, and complaints about fatigue, are all typical signs of iron deficiency.

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