If you're genetically prone to obesity, fried food could worsen the problem

Fried food isn't exactly the healthiest choice for anyone looking to lose weight, but new research suggests that people who are genetically prone to obesity can be more susceptible to the adverse effects that come from a bad diet.

A study published in the British Medical Journal found that fried foods could interact with genes that regulate body mass index. For those people who had the highest genetic risk scores for obesity, eating fried food more than four times a week was associated with a significantly higher BMI increase than in people with fewer genetic markers for obesity.

And while it's known that fried food consumption and genetic risk factors can independently influence BMI and obesity, the relationship between these two things hasn't been examined – until now.

Genetics should not be ignored

The study authors stressed that while everyone should be eating fried food "sparingly," people with genetic obesity risk factors should be especially cautious about their consumption of these foods.

Ignoring the genetic factors that come into play regarding weight gain, they continued, would be a "great shame" – as these types of findings can offer useful insight for prevention and treatment strategies.

"This work provides formal proof of interaction between a combined genetic risk score and environment in obesity," wrote Professor Alexandra Blakemore and Dr. Jessica Buxton at Imperial College London in an editorial.

Source: British Medical Journal

Photo credit: John Nyboer