Junk food ‘can trigger signs of metabolic disease even in small amounts’

A new study has indicated that junk food snacks can trigger signs of metabolic disease, even when eaten in small quantities.

Published in the FASEB Journal, the study assessed two groups of male volunteers, the first including ten healthy subjects and the second including nine volunteers with metabolic syndrome and a combination of two or more risk factors for heart disease.

Both groups had blood samples taken before and after consuming a high-fat milkshake. A total of 61 biomarkers, such as cholesterol and blood sugar, were measured, revealing that biochemical processes related to sugar metabolism, fat metabolism and inflammation were abnormal in subjects with metabolic syndrome.

Meanwhile, the ten healthy volunteers were also given a snack diet, causing a change in hormones regulating the control of sugar and fat metabolism and inflammation.

This was indicative of a small but noticeable start to negative health effects similar to those affecting people with metabolic disease.

Dr Suzan Wopereis, a researcher involved in the work, said: "Acute effects of diet are mostly small, but may have large consequences in the long run."