“Eating junk food has a negative effect on mental health, making those who consume it regularly feel depressed,” said The Daily Telegraph.
The news is based on a Spanish study that looked at how 9,000 people’s consumption of fast food and baked goods, such as pies and pastries, related to their risk of depression. In a week when tax on pasties and pies has been the source of great distress for some, researchers found that people who consumed the most fast food and baked good were 37% more likely to become depressed over a six-year period than people with the lowest consumption.
This study had some strengths. For example, it established people’s diets before they were followed to see if they developed depression, which means their diets preceded their depression. However, it cannot conclusively show that fast food directly causes depression. For example, it is just as plausible that diet and depression are both the result of a common factor. Therefore, it’s too early to rebrand the burger and fries as an “unhappy meal”.
