After a long day of work or studying, the last thing one wants to do is spend an hour preparing a meal and doing dishes. Fortunately, ordering takeout has the appeal of being quick and easy. USDA research has found that Americans tend to spend more on eating out than they do preparing food at home. Despite the convenience of takeout food, many studies have found negative health consequences associated with common takeout choices. Specifically, fast food has been shown to cause increased risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular complications, but there may also be many other consequences that have simply yet to be discovered. In fact, a recent study has suggested yet another repercussion of continuous takeout food consumption — phthalates.
Phthalates are used to make takeout boxes.
Image Source: Rob Lewine
Researchers have found higher levels of phthalates in people who reportedly ate out more often than those who prepared fresh meals from home. Phthalates are chemicals that are commonly found in plastics involved in the processing and storage of food sold by restaurants. Studies have associated phthalate exposure to numerous health issues including, most notably, breast cancer. The researchers analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to identify a potential relationship between takeout consumption the day prior and levels of phthalate metabolites in one’s urine. The conclusion made was that people who frequent takeout joints had over 30 percent higher levels of phthalate than people who cooked their own meals. Strikingly, about 60 percent of approximately 10,000 participants in the study had eaten out the day before, indicating the prevalence of consumerism in the takeout food industry of America. Previous studies have found higher phthalate levels in those that ate fast food compared to those who didn’t, and this new study expands on these findings by considering multiple forms of takeout food, not just McDonald’s and other fast foods.
The results of this study suggest that people who enjoy eating out are likely increasing their own risks for health issues by inadvertently consuming phthalates. The researchers believe that phthalate usage in products involved in takeout food processing pose a significant public health problem. It may be necessary to enact bans on making plastics out of phthalates in order to prevent people from getting ill, considering the difficulty with which eating habits, or habits in general, may be changed. Furthermore, it may very well be the responsibility of restaurants to ensure such bans are put in place in order to maintain the health of their clients. Spreading awareness about phthalates and conducting further research to support these findings may help expedite these processes.
Featured Image Source: Chris Goldberg
