Study Links Junk Food with Risk of Depression

A recent study published in the March issue of Public Health Nutrition has found that the frequent consumption of fast food and processed sweets isn’t just detrimental to the body, but also to emotional health. Spanish researchers at University of Granada; University of Navara, Pamplona; and University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria followed the dietary habits and mental wellbeing of nearly 9,000 participants for more than six years and discovered that the subjects who ate the most fast food (hamburgers, pizza, etc.) and baked goods (doughnuts, croissants, and other pastries) were 51 percent more likely to develop depression. This isn’t the first time that mood and diet have been connected—a study from February found that converting to vegetarianism can actually improve one’s mood.