Consuming a Southern diet can increase the risk of heart disease, according to a new study. Published in the journal Circulation, the study investigates the relationship between a Southern diet — often including copious amounts of fried foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, eggs, processed meat, liver and other organ meats — and the risk for coronary heart disease (CHD).
Researchers have previously performed extensive studies on the relationship between CHD and individual foods and nutrients, especially red meat and saturated fat, but there is little information on the relationship between CHD risk and overall diet. This type of study is more informative because most people consume various foods in combination rather than eating a steady diet of just one or two foods.
While the number of deaths associated with CHD fell 36 percent between 1991-2001 and 2008-2010 in the United States, heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the nation. In 2010, CHD was responsible for about 1 in 6 deaths in the U.S.
The researchers used data from the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study to compare the dietary habits of more than 17,000 white and African-American adults aged 45 and older.
The scientists enrolled participants into the study between 2003 and 2007. Each participant engaged in telephone screening, underwent a physical exam and completed a food frequency questionnaire that asked about the subject's food consumption over the previous year. The researchers excluded subjects with pre-existing heart disease.
The scientists followed up with a phone interview every six months and asked participants about their health status. The researchers continued follow-up calls for six years.
For this study, the researchers categorized the different types of food commonly eaten by participants into five dietary patterns:
- Convenience: pasta, pizza, Chinese and Mexican food
- Plant-based: fruits and vegetables, cereal, poultry, fish, beans, and yogurt
- Sweets: sugars, chocolate, dessert, candy and sweetened breakfast foods
- Alcohol/salads: beer, wine and liquor, along with tomatoes, green leafy vegetables and salad dressing
- Southern diet: ample amounts of fried food, organ meats, processed meats, eggs, added fats and sugar-sweetened beverages
The Southern diet gains its name from the culinary patterns of people living in the southeastern United States, especially Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
Medical professionals often refer to this area as "the Stroke Belt," the 11-state region where the risk for stroke is 11 percent higher than in other parts of the country, according to the Heart Attack and Stroke Prevention Center. Previous research has shown a relationship between the Southern diet and an increased risk for stroke.
The researchers found that participants who ate foods predominately from the Southern diet had a 56 percent higher risk for CHD than did those who consumed these foods less often. The study showed no link between the other dietary patterns and the risk for coronary heart disease.
African-American male participants were the most likely to follow the Southern diet. People who were not high school graduates were also likely to consume a Southern diet, as were residents of the Stroke Belt.
Research leader James M. Shikany, a nutritional epidemiologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, urges people who consume a Southern diet frequently to become aware of the associated risk for heart disease and move gradually toward a healthier diet, regardless of the individual's race, gender or geographic location.
