HEALTH experts have warned that women who eat instant noodles run the risk of blood pressure and high cholesterol after a recent Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination survey.
In the study, it was sound that women who eat noodles at least two times a week face a greater risk of high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar and high cholesterol. This study looked at data from 10,711 adults, just over half of whom were women and researchers at Harvard University have adopted its report.
According to the Harvard University team, there was a 68% higher risk of metabolic syndrome among women but not men, who ate instant noodles more than twice per week. Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions, which includes carrying too much fat around the waist, that raises the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
A Harvard University spokesman said: “The consumption of instant noodles was associated with increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome in women, independent of major dietary patterns. In other words, it didn’t matter if women ate a largely traditional diet of rice, fish and vegetables, or a diet heavier in meat and fried foods, as if they ate instant noodles twice weekly, they were at higher risk of health problems."
The results of the study have been published in the Journal of Nutrition. It is still unclear why the effect was seen in women but not men.
Frank Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard, said that since the data was based on surveys, it may be that women reported their diet more accurately than men, or that women were more sensitive to the effects of carbohydrates, fat and salts. He added that eating noodles once or twice a month is not a problem but a few times a week really is.
