Impact of Fast Food Consumption on Obesity and Overweight among Individuals Aged Ten Years and Above: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
-
Seif Said Khalfan
,
Jeremie Minani
,
Sultan Kh. Muki
,
Fatma A. Said
,
Dennis M. Lyakurwa
,
Bo Zhang
Abstract
Background: The prevalence of obesity and overweight globally has increased to epidemic proportions, representing a substantial burden on health systems. The consumption of high-energy-density but low-nutritional-value food, known as fast food, has been linked to the obesity epidemic. This review aimed to quantify the association between fast food consumption and overweight/obesity in individuals aged ten years and above.
Methods: We followed the PRISMA-P 2020 guidelines. To identify studies, English databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, and DOAJ, were searched. The search strategy focused on terms and inclusion criteria. After quality assessment, data were analyzed using SPSS software.
Results: Thirteen studies out of 665 screened indicate a significant positive association between fast food consumption and obesity or overweight (OR 2.979 [1.748-5.078]). Heterogeneity analysis revealed substantial variability across studies (Q = 119.497, P < 0.0001; I² = 92.47%), suggesting true differences beyond chance with the random-effects model showed a stronger association compared to the fixed-effects model (OR 2.979 vs. OR 1.929). Sensitivity analysis demonstrated variations based on sample size. Publication bias of the included studies was done using Egger’s and Begg’s tests.
Conclusion: The analysis revealed the effect of fast food consumption on weight status varied among demographic subpopulations. The review also provides further justification for interventions to encourage healthier dietary choices and reductions in consumption of fast food, both of which, in turn, are aimed at tackling the obesity epidemic.
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2. World Obesity Federation (2024). World Obesity Atlas. https://data.worldobesity.org/publications/?cat=22
3. Remus Popa A, Fratila O, Rus M, et al (2020). Risk factors for adiposity in the urban population and influence on the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Exp Ther Med, 20 (1):129-133.
4. Shim J, Shim SY, Cha H-J, Kim J, Kim HC (2022). Association Between Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Dietary Intake and Diet Quality in Korean Adults. J Acad Nutr Diet, 122 (3):583-594.
5. Machado PP, Steele EM, Levy RB, et al (2019). Ultra-Processed Foods and Recommended Intake Levels of Nutrients Linked to Non-Communicable Diseases in Australia: Evidence From a Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Study. BMJ Open, 9 (8):e029544.
6. Fox A, Feng W, Asal V (2019). What is driving global obesity trends? Globalization or ‘modernization’? Global Health, 15(1):32.
7. Fryar CD, Hughes JP, Herrick KA, Ahluwalia N (2018). Fast food consump-tion among adults in the United States, 2013–2016. NCHS Data Brief, (322):1–8.
8. Codjia CO, Saghaian SH (2022). Determi-nants of food expenditure patterns: evi-dence from U.S. consumers in the con-text of the COVID-19 price shocks. Sus-tainability, 14(13):8156.
9. Popkin BM (2022). Does excessive fast-food consumption impair our health? Am J Clin Nutr, 116(1):11–12.
10. AlTamimi JZ, Alshwaiyat NM, Alkhalidy H, et al (2022). Prevalence of fast food in-take among a multi-ethnic population of young men and its connection with so-ciodemographic determinants and obe-sity. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 19(22):14933.
11. Patel O, Shahulhameed S, Shivashankar R, et al (2017). Association between full service and fast food restaurant density, dietary intake and overweight/obesity among adults in Delhi, India. BMC Pub-lic Health, 18(1):36.
12. Doupis J, Festas G, Papakonstantinou PE, et al (2020). The consumption of fast food favors weight increase in young Hellenic Navy personnel: a 10-year fol-low-up study. Metab Syndr Relat Disord, 18(10):493–497.
13. Laxy M, Malecki KC, Givens ML, Walsh MC, Nieto FJ (2015). The association be-tween neighborhood economic hard-ship, the retail food environment, fast food intake, and obesity: findings from the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin. BMC Public Health, 15:237.
14. Mackay S, de Castro TG, Young L, Shaw G, Ni Mhurchu C, Eyles H (2021). Energy, sodium, sugar and saturated fat content of New Zealand fast-food products and meal combos in 2020. Nutrients, 13(11):4010.
15. Amith M, Onye C, Ledoux T, Xiong G, Tao C (2021). The ontology of fast food facts: conceptualization of nutritional fast food data for consumers and se-mantic web applications. BMC Med In-form Decis Mak, 21(Suppl 7):275.
16. Zhao Y, Wang L, Xue H, Wang H, Wang Y (2017). Fast food consumption and its associations with obesity and hyperten-sion among children: results from the baseline data of the Childhood Obesity Study in China Mega-cities. BMC Public Health, 17:933.
17. Bahadoran Z, Mirmiran P, Azizi F (2016). Fast food pattern and cardiometabolic disorders: a review of current studies. Health Promot Perspect, 5(4):231–240.
18. Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, et al (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting system-atic reviews. PLoS Med, 18(3):e1003583.
19. Smith EA, Cooper NJ, Sutton AJ, Abrams KR, Hubbard SJ (2021). A review of the quantitative effectiveness evidence syn-thesis methods used in public health in-tervention guidelines. BMC Public Health, 21(1):278.
20. Porritt K, Gomersall J, Lockwood C (2014). JBI’s systematic reviews: study selection and critical appraisal. Am J Nurs, 114(6):47–52.
21. AlTamimi JZ, AlFaris NA, Alshwaiyat NM, et al (2023). Prevalence of fast-food in-take among a multi-ethnic population of middle-aged men and connection with sociodemographic factors and obesity. Medicine (Baltimore), 102(15):e33555.
22. Tareq AM, Mahmud MH, Billah MM, et al (2022). Fast Food and Obesity: Status among the Young Adult Population in Bangladesh. Narra J, 2(3):e86.
23. Sultana FSS, Islam M, Al Muktadir MH, et al (2022). Cross-sectional study on over-weight and obesity associated with fast-food consumption in Bangladesh. Makara J Health Res, 26(2).
24. Thike TZ, Saw YM, Lin H, et al (2020). As-sociation between body mass index and ready-to-eat food consumption among sedentary staff in Nay Pyi Taw union territory, Myanmar. BMC Public Health, 20: 206.
25. Yoon SR, Fogleman SK, Kim H, Lee KE, Kim OY (2020). Breakfast Intake Effect on the Association between Fast-Food Consumption and the Risk of Obesity and Dyslipidemia in Korean Adults Aged 20-39 Years Based on the Korea National Health and Nutrition Exami-nation Survey IV 2013-2014. Clin Nutr Res, 9(2):107–121.
26. Sim S, Laohasiriwong W (2019). Fast Food Consumption, Overweight and Obesity among Working Age Persons in Cam-bodia. J Clin Diagn Res, 13(7):LC01–LC06.
27. Ahmed J, Alnasir F, Jaradat A, Al Marab-heh AJ, Hamadeh RR (2019). Association of overweight and obesity with high fast food consumption by Gulf Cooperation Council medical students. Ecol Food Nutr, 58(5):495–510.
28. Mohammadbeigi A, Asgarian A, Moshir E, et al (2018). Fast food consumption and overweight/obesity prevalence in stu-dents and its association with general and abdominal obesity. J Prev Med Hyg, 59(3):E236–E240.
29. Shah T, Purohit G, Nair SP, Patel B, Rawal Y, Shah RM (2014). Assessment of obesi-ty, overweight and its association with the fast food consumption in medical students. J Clin Diagn Res, 8(5):CC05–7.
30. Whitton C, Ma Y, Bastian AC, Chan MF, Chew L (2014). Fast-food consumers in Singapore: demographic profile, diet quality and weight status. Public Health Nutr, 17(8):1805–1813.
31. Al-Otaibi HH, Basuny AM (2015). Fast food consumption associated with obesi-ty/overweight risk among university fe-male students in Saudi Arabia. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, 14(8):511–516.
32. Emond JA, Longacre MR, Titus LJ, et al (2020). Fast food intake and excess weight gain over a 1-year period among preschool-age children. Pediatr Obes, 15(4):e12602.
33. Brown H, Xiang H, Albani V, et al (2022). No new fast-food outlets allowed! Eval-uating the effect of planning policy on the local food environment in the North East of England. Soc Sci Med, 306:115126.
34. Kriaucioniene V, Bagdonaviciene L, Rodríguez-Pérez C, Petkeviciene J (2020). Associations between changes in health behaviours and body weight during the COVID-19 quarantine in Lithuania: the Lithuanian COVIDiet study. Nutrients, 12(10): 3119.
35. Brunstrom JM, Cheon BK (2018). Do hu-mans still forage in an obesogenic envi-ronment? Mechanisms and implications for weight maintenance. Physiol Behav, 193(Pt B):261–267.
36. Cummings JR, Lipsky LM, Schwedhelm C, Liu A, Nansel TR (2022). Associations of ultra-processed food intake with mater-nal weight change and cardiometabolic health and infant growth. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act, 19(1):61.
37. Jakobsen DD, Brader L, Bruun JM (2023). Association between food, beverages and overweight/obesity in children and adolescents – A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Nutrients, 15(3):764.
38. Powell-Wiley TM, Poirier P, Burke LE, et al (2021). Obesity and cardiovascular dis-ease: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 143(21):e984–e1010.
39. Winn NC, Cottam MA, Wasserman DH, Hasty AH (2021). Exercise and adipose tissue immunity: outrunning inflamma-tion. Obesity (Silver Spring), 29(5):790–801.
40. Steele CC, Pirkle JRA, Kirkpatrick K (2017). Diet-induced impulsivity: effects of a high-fat and a high-sugar diet on impul-sive choice in rats. PLoS One, 12(6):e0180510.
41. Dalby MJ, Ross AW, Walker AW, Morgan PJ (2017). Dietary uncoupling of gut mi-crobiota and energy harvesting from obesity and glucose tolerance in mice. Cell Rep, 21(6):1521–1533.
42. Jia P, Luo M, Li Y, Zheng JS, Xiao Q, Luo J (2021). Fast-food restaurant, unhealthy eating, and childhood obesity: a system-atic review and meta-analysis. Obes Rev, 22 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):e12944.
43. Gangachin SE, Bayrami R, Rahimi B, Ma-sudi S (2024). Smartphone-based educa-tional and counseling interventions for women with high body mass index at Urmia’s health centers. BMC Womens Health, 24(1):8.
44. Febriani D, Sudarti T (2019). Fast food as drivers for overweight and obesity among urban school children at Jakarta, Indonesia. J Gizi Pangan, 14(2):99–106.
45. Hidaka BH, Hester CM, Bridges KM, Daley CM, Greiner KA (2018). Fast food con-sumption is associated with higher edu-cation in women, but not men, among older adults in urban safety-net clinics: a cross-sectional survey. Prev Med Rep, 12:148–151.
46. Negrut GA, Avram C, Răchită AIC, Ruţa F (2022). Risk factors for obesity and overweight in children and adolescents from Romania. Bull Univ Agric Sci Vet Med Cluj-Napoca Food Sci Technol, 1(79):87.
47. Bagnato M, Roy-Gagnon MH, Vanderlee L, White C, Hammond D, Potvin Kent M (2023). The impact of fast food market-ing on brand preferences and fast food intake of youth aged 10–17 across six countries. BMC Public Health, 23(1):1436.
2. World Obesity Federation (2024). World Obesity Atlas. https://data.worldobesity.org/publications/?cat=22
3. Remus Popa A, Fratila O, Rus M, et al (2020). Risk factors for adiposity in the urban population and influence on the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Exp Ther Med, 20 (1):129-133.
4. Shim J, Shim SY, Cha H-J, Kim J, Kim HC (2022). Association Between Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Dietary Intake and Diet Quality in Korean Adults. J Acad Nutr Diet, 122 (3):583-594.
5. Machado PP, Steele EM, Levy RB, et al (2019). Ultra-Processed Foods and Recommended Intake Levels of Nutrients Linked to Non-Communicable Diseases in Australia: Evidence From a Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Study. BMJ Open, 9 (8):e029544.
6. Fox A, Feng W, Asal V (2019). What is driving global obesity trends? Globalization or ‘modernization’? Global Health, 15(1):32.
7. Fryar CD, Hughes JP, Herrick KA, Ahluwalia N (2018). Fast food consump-tion among adults in the United States, 2013–2016. NCHS Data Brief, (322):1–8.
8. Codjia CO, Saghaian SH (2022). Determi-nants of food expenditure patterns: evi-dence from U.S. consumers in the con-text of the COVID-19 price shocks. Sus-tainability, 14(13):8156.
9. Popkin BM (2022). Does excessive fast-food consumption impair our health? Am J Clin Nutr, 116(1):11–12.
10. AlTamimi JZ, Alshwaiyat NM, Alkhalidy H, et al (2022). Prevalence of fast food in-take among a multi-ethnic population of young men and its connection with so-ciodemographic determinants and obe-sity. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 19(22):14933.
11. Patel O, Shahulhameed S, Shivashankar R, et al (2017). Association between full service and fast food restaurant density, dietary intake and overweight/obesity among adults in Delhi, India. BMC Pub-lic Health, 18(1):36.
12. Doupis J, Festas G, Papakonstantinou PE, et al (2020). The consumption of fast food favors weight increase in young Hellenic Navy personnel: a 10-year fol-low-up study. Metab Syndr Relat Disord, 18(10):493–497.
13. Laxy M, Malecki KC, Givens ML, Walsh MC, Nieto FJ (2015). The association be-tween neighborhood economic hard-ship, the retail food environment, fast food intake, and obesity: findings from the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin. BMC Public Health, 15:237.
14. Mackay S, de Castro TG, Young L, Shaw G, Ni Mhurchu C, Eyles H (2021). Energy, sodium, sugar and saturated fat content of New Zealand fast-food products and meal combos in 2020. Nutrients, 13(11):4010.
15. Amith M, Onye C, Ledoux T, Xiong G, Tao C (2021). The ontology of fast food facts: conceptualization of nutritional fast food data for consumers and se-mantic web applications. BMC Med In-form Decis Mak, 21(Suppl 7):275.
16. Zhao Y, Wang L, Xue H, Wang H, Wang Y (2017). Fast food consumption and its associations with obesity and hyperten-sion among children: results from the baseline data of the Childhood Obesity Study in China Mega-cities. BMC Public Health, 17:933.
17. Bahadoran Z, Mirmiran P, Azizi F (2016). Fast food pattern and cardiometabolic disorders: a review of current studies. Health Promot Perspect, 5(4):231–240.
18. Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, et al (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting system-atic reviews. PLoS Med, 18(3):e1003583.
19. Smith EA, Cooper NJ, Sutton AJ, Abrams KR, Hubbard SJ (2021). A review of the quantitative effectiveness evidence syn-thesis methods used in public health in-tervention guidelines. BMC Public Health, 21(1):278.
20. Porritt K, Gomersall J, Lockwood C (2014). JBI’s systematic reviews: study selection and critical appraisal. Am J Nurs, 114(6):47–52.
21. AlTamimi JZ, AlFaris NA, Alshwaiyat NM, et al (2023). Prevalence of fast-food in-take among a multi-ethnic population of middle-aged men and connection with sociodemographic factors and obesity. Medicine (Baltimore), 102(15):e33555.
22. Tareq AM, Mahmud MH, Billah MM, et al (2022). Fast Food and Obesity: Status among the Young Adult Population in Bangladesh. Narra J, 2(3):e86.
23. Sultana FSS, Islam M, Al Muktadir MH, et al (2022). Cross-sectional study on over-weight and obesity associated with fast-food consumption in Bangladesh. Makara J Health Res, 26(2).
24. Thike TZ, Saw YM, Lin H, et al (2020). As-sociation between body mass index and ready-to-eat food consumption among sedentary staff in Nay Pyi Taw union territory, Myanmar. BMC Public Health, 20: 206.
25. Yoon SR, Fogleman SK, Kim H, Lee KE, Kim OY (2020). Breakfast Intake Effect on the Association between Fast-Food Consumption and the Risk of Obesity and Dyslipidemia in Korean Adults Aged 20-39 Years Based on the Korea National Health and Nutrition Exami-nation Survey IV 2013-2014. Clin Nutr Res, 9(2):107–121.
26. Sim S, Laohasiriwong W (2019). Fast Food Consumption, Overweight and Obesity among Working Age Persons in Cam-bodia. J Clin Diagn Res, 13(7):LC01–LC06.
27. Ahmed J, Alnasir F, Jaradat A, Al Marab-heh AJ, Hamadeh RR (2019). Association of overweight and obesity with high fast food consumption by Gulf Cooperation Council medical students. Ecol Food Nutr, 58(5):495–510.
28. Mohammadbeigi A, Asgarian A, Moshir E, et al (2018). Fast food consumption and overweight/obesity prevalence in stu-dents and its association with general and abdominal obesity. J Prev Med Hyg, 59(3):E236–E240.
29. Shah T, Purohit G, Nair SP, Patel B, Rawal Y, Shah RM (2014). Assessment of obesi-ty, overweight and its association with the fast food consumption in medical students. J Clin Diagn Res, 8(5):CC05–7.
30. Whitton C, Ma Y, Bastian AC, Chan MF, Chew L (2014). Fast-food consumers in Singapore: demographic profile, diet quality and weight status. Public Health Nutr, 17(8):1805–1813.
31. Al-Otaibi HH, Basuny AM (2015). Fast food consumption associated with obesi-ty/overweight risk among university fe-male students in Saudi Arabia. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, 14(8):511–516.
32. Emond JA, Longacre MR, Titus LJ, et al (2020). Fast food intake and excess weight gain over a 1-year period among preschool-age children. Pediatr Obes, 15(4):e12602.
33. Brown H, Xiang H, Albani V, et al (2022). No new fast-food outlets allowed! Eval-uating the effect of planning policy on the local food environment in the North East of England. Soc Sci Med, 306:115126.
34. Kriaucioniene V, Bagdonaviciene L, Rodríguez-Pérez C, Petkeviciene J (2020). Associations between changes in health behaviours and body weight during the COVID-19 quarantine in Lithuania: the Lithuanian COVIDiet study. Nutrients, 12(10): 3119.
35. Brunstrom JM, Cheon BK (2018). Do hu-mans still forage in an obesogenic envi-ronment? Mechanisms and implications for weight maintenance. Physiol Behav, 193(Pt B):261–267.
36. Cummings JR, Lipsky LM, Schwedhelm C, Liu A, Nansel TR (2022). Associations of ultra-processed food intake with mater-nal weight change and cardiometabolic health and infant growth. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act, 19(1):61.
37. Jakobsen DD, Brader L, Bruun JM (2023). Association between food, beverages and overweight/obesity in children and adolescents – A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Nutrients, 15(3):764.
38. Powell-Wiley TM, Poirier P, Burke LE, et al (2021). Obesity and cardiovascular dis-ease: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 143(21):e984–e1010.
39. Winn NC, Cottam MA, Wasserman DH, Hasty AH (2021). Exercise and adipose tissue immunity: outrunning inflamma-tion. Obesity (Silver Spring), 29(5):790–801.
40. Steele CC, Pirkle JRA, Kirkpatrick K (2017). Diet-induced impulsivity: effects of a high-fat and a high-sugar diet on impul-sive choice in rats. PLoS One, 12(6):e0180510.
41. Dalby MJ, Ross AW, Walker AW, Morgan PJ (2017). Dietary uncoupling of gut mi-crobiota and energy harvesting from obesity and glucose tolerance in mice. Cell Rep, 21(6):1521–1533.
42. Jia P, Luo M, Li Y, Zheng JS, Xiao Q, Luo J (2021). Fast-food restaurant, unhealthy eating, and childhood obesity: a system-atic review and meta-analysis. Obes Rev, 22 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):e12944.
43. Gangachin SE, Bayrami R, Rahimi B, Ma-sudi S (2024). Smartphone-based educa-tional and counseling interventions for women with high body mass index at Urmia’s health centers. BMC Womens Health, 24(1):8.
44. Febriani D, Sudarti T (2019). Fast food as drivers for overweight and obesity among urban school children at Jakarta, Indonesia. J Gizi Pangan, 14(2):99–106.
45. Hidaka BH, Hester CM, Bridges KM, Daley CM, Greiner KA (2018). Fast food con-sumption is associated with higher edu-cation in women, but not men, among older adults in urban safety-net clinics: a cross-sectional survey. Prev Med Rep, 12:148–151.
46. Negrut GA, Avram C, Răchită AIC, Ruţa F (2022). Risk factors for obesity and overweight in children and adolescents from Romania. Bull Univ Agric Sci Vet Med Cluj-Napoca Food Sci Technol, 1(79):87.
47. Bagnato M, Roy-Gagnon MH, Vanderlee L, White C, Hammond D, Potvin Kent M (2023). The impact of fast food market-ing on brand preferences and fast food intake of youth aged 10–17 across six countries. BMC Public Health, 23(1):1436.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 54 No 9 (2025) | |
| Section | Review Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v54i9.19850 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Fast food consumption Obesity Overweight Junk food Meta-analysis | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Khalfan S, Minani J, Muki S, Said F, Lyakurwa D, Zhang B. Impact of Fast Food Consumption on Obesity and Overweight among Individuals Aged Ten Years and Above: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Iran J Public Health. 2025;54(9):1808-1819.
