Commentaries

Hepatotoxicity of fast food?

Giulio Marchesini, Valentina Ridolfi, Valentina Nepoti

Clinical Dietetics, "Alma Mater Studiorum" University of Bologna, Italy

Correspondence to:
Professor Giulio Marchesini, Clinical Dietetics, "Alma Mater Studiorum" University of Bologna, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, 9, Via Massarenti, I-40138 Bologna, Italy; giulio.marchesini@unibo.it

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

In the dictionary, fast food is defined as any food which may be cooked easily, and is sold by restaurants to be eaten quickly or taken away. Changes in the dietary pattern of the last decades have made fast food a relevant component of Western diets, but a diet largely based on fast food has detrimental effects on health, which have been a matter of discussion for 20 years.¹ Two potential mechanisms have been suggested: (1) fast feeding does not suppress appetite, leading to increased calorie consumption; and (2) fast food is usually richer in fats and saturated fats (and thus richer in calories), as well as in other components which may cause harm to several organs, namely widespread cardiovascular disease. Both mechanisms are likely to promote obesity, but is there evidence for a direct hepatotoxicity?

The issue came to public attention in the movie Super Size Me. After . . . [Full text of this article]

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