{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,25]],"date-time":"2026-06-25T21:24:12Z","timestamp":1782422652743,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,30]],"date-time":"2025-07-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1753833600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a global health issue, with fast food consumption hypothesized as a risk factor. This meta-analysis aimed to explore the relationship between fast food intake and NAFLD.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>This review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines. A comprehensive search was conducted across PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase from inception to February 28, 2025. A total of nine eligible observational studies involving 169,771 participants were included. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using random-effects models.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>A higher consumption of fast food was significantly associated with a 55% increased risk of NAFLD (OR\u202f=\u202f1.55, 95% CI: 1.51\u20131.59, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001, I<jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup> =\u202f15.6%). Moreover, fast food intake was linked to a 37% higher risk of obesity (OR\u202f=\u202f1.37, 95% CI: 1.27\u20131.49, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001, I<jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup> =\u202f54.2%), a key metabolic factor in NAFLD pathogenesis. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of these associations, with no significant evidence of publication bias.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Fast food consumption is positively associated with NAFLD and obesity. Heterogeneity highlights the need for standardized methods in future large-scale studies to validate these findings and inform preventive strategies.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1600826","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,30]],"date-time":"2025-07-30T05:30:54Z","timestamp":1753853454000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Fast food consumption and risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Jinke","family":"He","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yingxue","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fangbin","family":"Weng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1442","DOI":"10.3390\/nu13051442","article-title":"Overview of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the role of sugary food consumption and other dietary components in its development","volume":"13","author":"Vancells Lujan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nutrients"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"8805","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms23158805","article-title":"The effects of probiotics, prebiotics and 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